


My Omega

by Juliet_Alayne



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: A few angsty moments, ABO with Soulmate Twist, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Jump are Alpha/Beta/Omega, Jump are Idols, Jump are canon but have ABO dynamics, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Primary relationship: Yamada x Chinen, World is AU, YAMACHII - Freeform, Yamachine - Freeform, a journey worth the first step, cause I'm me and I must, cute boys figuring out who they are, fluffy and sweet and sassy for the most part, not especially nsfw but there is some suggestive content, slow and steady
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:00:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 50,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21874066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juliet_Alayne/pseuds/Juliet_Alayne
Summary: “I think fate is a chance to meet someone wonderful! I think fate is what brought Chinen and I together.” --Yamada RyosukeThis story is an AU featuring the members of Hey! Say! Jump as Idols (as themselves) with an Alpha/Beta/Omega type society that has been dormant for a very long time but suddenly the trait appears to have been reactivated.Primary pairing is YamadaxChinen, but it also includes a few other group pairings.There are a few details about this universe that are revealed through out the story and I hate when you sort of feel like you have to take notes while reading a fic so I have done my best to lead forward and point backward when necessary. In the notes at the start of each chapter I will place a list of what we have learned up until this point about the world, our Alpha/Beta/Omega characters, and their abilities. I hope this will help you enjoy the story even more!If you find yourself wondering more about the story's universe or background information, please feel free to ask any questions you have.
Relationships: Chinen Yuri/Yamada Ryosuke, Inoo Kei/Yaotome Hikaru, Nakajima Yuto/Okamoto Keito
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42
Collections: JUMPing Fic Carnival 2019





	1. Mystery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [grayscale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grayscale/gifts).



> To my dear recipient, @grayscale, I SERIOUSLY hope you enjoy this! I sort of got carried away but I hope you enjoy it with my whole entire heart and soul! I haven't written ABO before, so this was a real challenge to first study the genre and then to work it into my own version and style! I really loved writing this story for you and I hope it makes you feel all the feels and sends a great big warm fuzzy squish from me straight to your heart!
> 
> To other readers: I didn't really know a single thing about ABO (Alpha Beta Omega) Universe before this so if you are put out by that genre I do understand--I realized through my research there are certainly some dynamics that can be confusing and in some cases disturbing--but I hope that even if ABO traditionally isn't your forte you might give my story a try as I did my best to put my own spin on it and take the parts I thought were pretty fascinating and then the ones that made my heart flutter in softness to make something a little bit new! ENJOY!
> 
> Comments and thoughts are priceless gifts to me, and Kudos are a blessing to me and mean so much I can never express. Whether you do these or not, please know how much I truly and sincerely appreciate you taking the time out of your busy life just to read this work! THANK YOU!
> 
> Finally, to the dearest blessing I can call a precious friend, Punkin--THANK YOU. I know I couldn't have done this without you, and while the "formal" name is beta--let's be honest, you were my sounding board, therapist, fact checker, and sanity keeper. I appreciate you more than words can EVER express and this would NEVER have been what it is without you!!!!! (Seriously tho lol)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, at the start, it hadn’t really mattered that he was mostly a “Johnny” by name alone, as he didn’t really participate in any of the work the other boys did—he just didn’t feel particularly invested in the whole scene one way or another, but then…he’d seen him.
> 
> The boy.
> 
> The only boy he could see.
> 
> He felt maybe the only boy he would ever see.
> 
> His hand moved out to touch the television screen, landing on the boy who was kneeling down by the man who was singing…he wasn’t sure who he was, but from the moment he’d seen him, he’d felt like he couldn’t take a full breath. Like the air was always held just a little in reserve, and he didn’t understand, couldn’t make sense of it…because he didn’t even know the boy—yet, somehow it felt to him as if he knew him—deeply, fully, without knowing.

“...and you should always remember that this is part of who we are, don’t ever forget ab—"  
  
Ryosuke's eyes widened, his small hands holding tightly onto the flowing fabric of his grandmother's skirt where she sat telling him and his siblings the same story that he'd heard so many times he thought even at the age of five he could somehow cobble it together well enough to retell it with no issues.  
  
"Mother..."  
  
Ryosuke turned his head, his eyes skimming past his sisters to see his mother standing in the doorway, her expression somehow not really her, somehow wrong as her mouth was set in a thin line instead of smile, brows drawn down into a scowl, "I have asked you to stop telling the children these stories..."  
  
"They need to know, to remember," Ryosuke jerked his head to look back at his grandmother whose hand had come to rest on the top of his head, "...it's their heritage after all and the--"  
  
"No," his mother's voice was firm, and he couldn’t stop his eyes from widening, his lips pursing into a pout, his fingers grasping onto his grandmother's skirt even harder as his mother's arms reached around him, lifting him off the floor as he desperately tried to hold onto his grandmother, "It is a strange mixture of mythology, mysticism, and fairy tales."  
  
"It's okay, it’s okay," came the soft, soothing words, his grandmother’s voice like a whisper against his heart, gentle, and Ryosuke felt tears swelling in his eyes, his head turning to look at his grandmother whose eyes seemed to be filled with words he could never understand as she held his attention, "It's okay Ryo-chan," she smiled gently, "Obey your mother..."  
  
"Exactly," his mother said, pulling him away, his fingers losing grip on the gathered fabric, his heart beating wildly in his chest, "Come on girls, it's time to go."  
  
Ryosuke heard his sisters following, his eyes held fast to his grandmother who was still looking at him with tender affection, "Obey your mother," she repeated softly, "...but trust your heart Ryo-chan."  
  
"Trust my heart," Ryosuke whispered softly.  
  
" _Trust your heart_ ," his grandmother confirmed, her hand lifting to wave as his mother huffed, her arms tight around him as she shifted him to her hip.  
  
"That's enough," his mother snapped, her voice firm and cold, his eyes drawn to her, not liking the feelings that were washing over him. Her eyes met his as she sat him on the floor to put his sister's shoes on, "It's okay, Ryosuke, everything is fine..."  
  
He felt himself shaking, twisting his hands into his lap as he felt another tear fall down his cheek, wanting to ask her why she was so mad, was she mad at him? Did he do something wrong?  
  
His mother sighed heavily, her shoulders dropping, "I'm sorry I snapped, I just...your grandmother is confused, that's all."  
  
"Isn't what she says true?" Chihiro asked, her hand on Ryosuke's shoulder, "I learned about it in school."  
  
"True or not," his mother spoke firmly, "These stories just keep you all fixated on what was, and I want you to see what is and what is yet to be."  
  
Her hand reached forward, brushing Chihiro's hair back affectionately, "Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, Momma," Chihiro nodded, watching as she picked up Misaki, then reached forward to take Ryosuke's hand, her eyes soft when they met his own.  
  
"Do you understand?"  
  
Ryosuke studied her, wanting to make her happy, always caring so much about her feelings, knowing all she wanted was for him to be happy too, nodding slowly because he hoped maybe one day he could understand even if he didn't right now.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Yuri stood in front of the television watching his favorite show, Shounen Club, his eyes skimming the stage with all of the boys on it, the lights, the glitter, the sounds, the voices, all mesmerizing to him. All he could think was…that somehow, some way…all he wanted in the whole world was to be on that stage.  
  
 _Please…I need to go there._  
  
He’d been admitted to Johnny’s Entertainment, his mother had sent in an application and taken him to an interview, signing the contract that same day—and even though they’d put him in a few television shows, he hadn’t been back to Tokyo for anything other than those few jobs since then. It wasn’t that they didn’t want him, of course they did, but his parent’s work kept them away and it was expensive to try to take him there, so they only called him for jobs when it was short term and not demanding.  
  
He didn’t really care about it at first, neither concerned for the money or the fame or the attention or the work—he just liked the way his Mom smiled, her pride clear, so he did it for her.  
  
So, at the start, it hadn’t really mattered that he was mostly a “Johnny” by name alone, as he didn’t really participate in any of the work the other boys did—he just didn’t feel particularly invested in the whole scene one way or another, but then…he’d seen _him_.  
  
 _The boy._  
  
The only boy he could see.  
  
He felt maybe the only boy he would ever see.  
  
His hand moved out to touch the television screen, landing on the boy who was kneeling down by the man who was singing…he wasn’t sure who he was, but from the moment he’d seen him, he’d felt like he couldn’t take a full breath. Like the air was always held just a little in reserve, and he didn’t understand, couldn’t make sense of it…because he didn’t even _know_ the boy—yet, somehow it felt to him as if he knew him—deeply, fully, without knowing.  
  
This made less than zero sense to him at the tender age of eleven years old…yet, sometimes he would still straddle the line between reality and fairy tales, and all he could think about was meeting this boy.  
  
At the same time, he was quite practical and he knew in his heart that the only way this dream would ever come true was if he determined it—not secure in this vague idea of fate. Giving yourself over to the will of powers beyond your own seemed lazy at best, and downright negligent at worst. No, despite wishing on stars and pleas to the heavens, there was no wisdom in relying on chance, fate, or other unknown factors to move his life in the proper direction to ensure his happiness.  
  
No, that was his role to play.  
  
He began to beg his parents to take him to Tokyo, to get him to the office, he wanted to work. At least, that’s what he told them, but in truth, he was consumed by wanting to meet the boy, by wanting to stand next to him, to see if the warmth he sensed from him radiated outward to where he could feel it up close. To dance beside him, as somehow in his heart he knew, they’d have the perfect rhythm together.  
  
He didn’t even really want to dance, not really—he’d always been far more interested in tumbling and gymnastics, but after seeing the boy on his television he couldn’t stop thinking about dancing with him—getting his sister to teach him some of the dance moves she used in her classes, begging her to find out information from her friends in Tokyo— _who is he?_  
  
 _Who is he?_  
  
 _What’s his name?_  
  
 _Why can’t I stop thinking about him?_  
  
Well, maybe not that last one, no, he opted to keep his secret feelings closely guarded, not ashamed, not particularly bothered, but somehow, they felt sacred, and he didn’t want to give them away to anyone.  
  
As he began learning to dance, his mind slowly changed, and it began to seem like such fun, to maybe stand on that stage, to have all of the attention on you--well, it was quite confusing, because honestly, he didn't particularly like to be looked at when he was just being himself, but...when he did things wanting attention?  
  
Nothing compared to everyone seeing him and acknowledging him.  
  
He felt like standing on that stage might feel like that—and maybe standing on that stage with the boy…then, everything would be right in his world.  
  
 _Please…I need to go there._  
  
His hand lifted to his chest, rubbing lightly the ache he felt there, something that seemed to be there all the time these days.  
  
 _I need to go there so I can take a deep breath again._  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
“His name is Yamada Ryosuke,” his older sister, Saya, announced, “He’s your age, and he’s been there for just a little while—he still hasn’t even been given a mic yet.”  
  
Yuri stared at her, wanting to grab her and shake her, to pull from her every single bit and bobble of information she knew, but she was so painfully slow in the telling, “…and!?”  
  
“They said he was short,” she shrugged, “Why in the world do you want to know all of this anyway?”  
  
He blinked at the question, biting his tongue to stop himself from blurting out, ‘because he’s my everything’, narrowing his eyes as he tried to think of something to say that would make her stop asking questions but not make her mad enough to stop helping him get info.  
  
“He’s a good dancer, I want to learn to dance like him,” to him it felt like this would be a safe answer, but Saya’s eyes widened.  
  
“Since when do you care about the other Johnny’s?”  
  
“I don’t care about the other Johnny’s!” Yuri rolled his eyes.  
  
 _I only care about the one…the boy…Yamada Ryosuke._  
  
“Then why am I driving my friends crazy for info about him?”  
  
He struggled to explain, unsure of what would satisfy her without revealing too much, deciding to use her competitive nature against her in this case, “Know the competition, that’s all. If I do get to Tokyo, it’s best to not to have any surprises.”  
  
She leaned back in her chair, nodding, “Smart thinking…I’ll see what else I can find out.”  
  
“Thanks, Saya.”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Yuri wasn’t sure what Saya thought at this point to be honest. It wasn’t like she ever called him out on his strange requests or even subtly hinted that she thought it was bizarre or odd—rather, to him at least, it seemed she just wanted him to be happy—and if allowing him this…this…perhaps borderline unhealthy obsession with Ryosuke to remain then she’d allow it. There were times he even felt like she had an extraordinary amount of compassion toward his curiosity and incessant need to discover everything humanly possible about him.  
  
And then…there were those days like today—where she helped him understand what he was feeling—where she supported him.  
  
“Here,” she slid the magazine across the coffee table to Yuri as she plopped down into the chair, having just arrived home from practice.  
  
He blinked, looking over at her from his position in the floor where he’d been stretching while watching an afternoon program, tilting his head as he tried to make sense of what she’d offered him, “What…what’s this?”  
  
Saya shrugged, the corner of her lips curling up into a grin as she leaned forward, to flip the pages of the magazine until it laid open before him with a heading—“Johnny’s Jr. in Hawaii”.

Yuri scrambled up onto his knees as his eyes were instantly drawn to him, to Ryosuke, standing there with the brightest smile like a ray of sunshine upon the pages, his warmth reaching out to Yuri even in this single moment of time based on something that Ryosuke did that probably happened months ago—yet, it mattered not to him, because he felt it.  
  
 _I feel it._  
  
His hand moved to his chest as his eyes were drawn to the hand touching Ryosuke’s shoulder, following the line to the Junior behind him who was holding his shoulder, just letting his hand rest there but Yuri couldn’t help but swallow hard, trying to tamp down the bubbling anxiety over seeing this stranger touch Ryosuke.  
  
 _My Ryosuke._  
  
Yuri frowned, irritated with himself that he couldn’t just be _happy_.  
  
After all, this was the first time he’d seen pictures of Ryosuke in any magazines, and surely that was a lovely thing, given the fact that it meant that he might be progressing, might have gotten noticed.  
  
 _I mean God knows he should be…I can’t believe he’s been in the back for so long._  
  
He shrugged off the odd melancholic feelings the picture tried to press into him, looking again at Ryosuke’s soft, sunny smile, feeling the negative emotions dissipate like a bubble popping instantly.  
  
His hand shook as he turned the page, his eyes instantly drawn to the image that spanned the entire space—Ryosuke, drinking from a straw with another Junior beside him…and his eyes were so soft—like they held magic and memories and undiscovered truths—causing Yuri’s tummy to twitter excitedly with joy. The next scene brought the image of the boy, the beautiful smile on his face somehow feeling like it was meant only for him—and Yuri couldn’t help but smile himself, because the radiant touch of the warmth spread across his skin again.  
  
Next there was a double layout which featured an image of Ryosuke sitting on one side by himself—the other containing a scene depicting him and the other Junior from before goofing off together.  
  
Yuri tilted his head, unsure why he didn’t feel the same debilitating jealousy or possessiveness with the boy on this page with Ryosuke, nothing bubbling up inside of him like it had with the first one, but somehow there was nothing like that there. He leaned forward, his finger landing on the page as he ran it over the smooth surface, trying to understand why this didn’t bother him, yet, when he looked at the picture of Rysouke sitting, his soft gentle smile seeming to speak to him on so many levels—and his eyes, so full of knowing, something beyond his years, all Yuri could think was that he felt it too, he understood.  
  
Yet, beyond what was easily seen with the eyes, it felt to Yuri that he was able to reach just beyond, troubled by the feeling that there was worry present there—underneath the pretense of giving the camera what it asked for—he felt...sadness and worry.  
  
Surely, these were not emotions attributed to boys their age, not generally, but he sensed them, heavy and strong as they flowed between him and the page. His mind swirled with the desire to fix whatever it was, because regardless of why or what had cast this shadow across Ryosuke, Yuri felt a compulsion to take care of him.  
  
He should only be happy.  
  
Suddenly, all that mattered to Yuri was that he felt beyond all reason that this boy should never, ever be sad, should never struggle, should only ever have good and wonderful things in his life.  
  
 _I’ll see to it._  
  
 _I’m going to come there, and I will remove that worry, that sadness from you._  
  
When he looked back at the other picture, he understood then, he could see the truth.  
  
It jumped out at him as if the words on a billboard, impossible to miss.  
  
 _Rivals._  
  
His heart clenched, his hand lifting to touch his own chest as the negative feeling blossomed.  
  
 _No._  
  
He didn’t want that, he definitely didn’t want it…and he knew that this was the entertainment industry and surely rivalries were normal, but to him at least, it seemed there was no competition in the first place…obviously, Ryosuke was the best.  
  
 _No one could come close to him, could touch his perfection._  
  
He sighed, knowing it was unrealistic and he needed to figure out how to balance this need to see Ryosuke as something other, but that was something he’d consider a different day—flipping the page to see Ryosuke standing with all the boys on the beach.  
  
“He really _is_ short,” Yuri murmured absently at how he stood at least a head lower than all the other boys in the line.  
  
“He’s tiny,” Saya agreed, causing Yuri to jump, having been so lost in the magazine he’d forgotten she was even there.  
  
“Yeah,” Yuri looked at her wide-eyed, feeling raw and vulnerable having been caught studying these images so closely, wondering what Saya thought.  
  
He blinked when she reached out to touch his hand, squeezing his fingers softly before releasing them to draw them under her legs to sit on them, “It’s okay to feel this way.”  
  
Yuri swallowed roughly, the air between them feeling heavy, unsure of what he was supposed to say, wanting to deny that there was anything unusual at all about how he felt about this boy, but knowing full well they were far past that and there was no point to deny it anyway, obviously Saya was not stupid.  
  
“I…I don’t…I don’t really understand it…” Yuri lifted his shoulders into a shrug, wanting to make sense of it, to break it down until he could, but then Saya leaned forward, her eyes wide, holding his own in a way that demanded his full attention, rendering him unable to look away from her.  
  
“There’s nothing to understand,” she spoke firmly, “A million people may move across the canvas of our lives like a pencil stroke, stark and quick—meant to put a mark for something else to come along and grow on top of it. But...then, there are those who move across the space like a wide stroke of a paintbrush, vibrant, alive, bringing color and breathing life into what was once just an empty void waiting to be shown how to shine.”  
  
“That’s what he is, who he is…” she glanced down to the magazine, “Does…do you feel…warm…” she swallowed, and he could tell she was wondering if she should say anything at all, but then she pushed through it, speaking quickly, “…do you feel warm when you look at him?”  
  
Yuri blinked, nodding slowly as he looked down at the page, wondering what she saw, if she saw the boy the same way he did.  
  
“Yeah,” Saya bit her lip, her eyes moving back to Yuri, and when he looked at her, he wanted to hug her because while he normally saw her as self-assured and confident and bold—right now she seemed to be raw and exposed—so small, “I…I’ve felt that feeling too…for a while now—there’s a boy in the town over, and he’s on their soccer team, and every time I see his picture in the newspaper it’s like the sun grows brighter, even if I’m in a dark room. It’s…I don’t really understand…but…”  
  
“It’s okay,” Yuri whispered, nodding, “It’s okay, we…it’s just that we feel stronger than others, yeah? Like…we just feel things and that is okay…I think it’s okay.”  
  
“I kinda wish I didn’t sometimes,” she frowned, “I just want to be like the other girls who are so casual about everything, but I can’t seem to be, even though I pretend I am, I’m really not…”  
  
Yuri hummed in understanding, because that would be something he really knew by his own heart—this was heavy and there was nothing casual about how he felt when he thought of Ryosuke—rather, it felt vital—like a lifeline he needed to have in his world, and that he wouldn’t be able to survive if it were broken.  
  
It had never occurred to Yuri to wonder this though, to wonder what it would be like to not care, to just not feel this emotion at all, to not have this strong attachment to this boy in the world, instantly feeling bereft at the very thought, “I would hate it, I don’t want that—I…I would be lost without it.”  
  
Saya inhaled slowly, and as much as she wanted to say she didn’t feel the same way she couldn’t, “Me too…even if I say I wish it wasn’t like this…I can’t really fathom what it would be like to have this emptiness inside of me where he is right now.”  
  
They sat in silence for a moment, each of them struggling with the idea of what this all meant, of what it was, and why it was something they felt, and it seemed like others didn’t—or if they did, they sure were hiding it very well. It wasn’t like they could ask anyone either, not really, because obviously, something about this was certainly not normal…not the typical way things happened, and surely it would be far too easy for someone to misinterpret their feelings for something nefarious.  
  
“Do you just want him to be happy?” Yuri wondered, looking back at Saya, waiting for her response as she sighed softly.  
  
“It’s all I want.”  
  
“Like…it feels like that’s what the purpose of your life is? To…to make him happy? Like all that could matter is how what I do…who I am…is here to bring him happiness?”  
  
“Yeah,” Saya agreed, “It’s weird because…I’m me, right? Right?”  
  
Yuri nodded, waiting for her to make sense of this, maybe help him better understand, her voice soft, “I’m me, and I love to draw, and I love to do gymnastics, and dance, and be silly, I love music, and I love to read, and I have all of these complex personality traits like anyone else, but then…there’s this extra part of me, this little bit of a part of my…my…”  
  
Her hand raised up to touch her heart, “…my soul…that…needs to see him happy…maybe more than my own happiness…maybe more than anything…I want him to be happy.”  
  
“Me too,” Yuri agreed, rubbing his chest where his heart panged at the thought of Ryosuke being unhappy.  
  
“Have you talked to him?” Saya shuffled down off the chair she was sitting in, settling down onto the floor so she was sitting directly across from Yuri, “Have you talked to him, Yur?”  
  
Yuri tilted his head, unsure of what she meant, because obviously, he hadn’t, he didn’t even know him, and Ryosuke didn’t even know he was alive, but at the same time, she was so earnest in the question, so expectant like it was very important that Yuri understand what she was asking so he tried to make sense of it, “I…I haven’t…I don’t even really know him…how would I talk to hi—”  
  
“Not physically,” Saya whispered, and her expression was a strange mixture of concern and excitement, “Like…not here…” her hands touched her head, “Not like…mentally, I guess…but…like…”  
  
She closed her eyes tightly, her hand touching the middle of her chest, pointing to her heart, “…here.”  
  
Yuri’s eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat, because he wanted to deny this, to say no, because he recognized this was some next level rubber walled room, straight-jacket kind of crazy territory right here, but he couldn’t—his head nodding yes even while his mind screamed no.  
  
It was just that he really could not easily dismiss the times he felt like he was sharing a conversation with this boy, that he was somehow bonding with him, not through physical means, but through emotional, spiritual, somehow that his soul was communicating with the other boy’s…that they were learning about each other and…he could not deny that this happened on a regular basis…that it was so normal that he didn’t even think twice about it at this point.  
  
He didn’t just ‘talk’ to Ryosuke, that was too small for what he felt about it, too dismissive, to minimizing, rather, he ‘knew’ Ryosuke, like he could read his mind, like he could feel what he felt, like he understood him on a level that was more than he often understood himself.  
  
Something hung in the air between the siblings for a moment, and then Saya smiled, her entire being seeming to radiate joy, her hands jerking forward to grab Yuri’s in her own, “I knew it!”  
  
“Knew…what?” Yuri felt like his hands were tingling where she was touching him, confused by the energy moving between them, his fingertips feeling like there was static building up within them.  
  
“That I wasn’t alone,” Saya spoke softly, and Yuri couldn’t help it, he couldn’t stop himself, so compulsive was the need, he was scrambling around the table that was between them, frantic as he dove into her arms, hugging himself tightly to her as her arms wrapped around him, holding him as she cried.  
  
“You’re not alone,” Yuri sobbed as he felt the sense of peace settling across him, “Neither am I,” he felt the weight of this, the sheer magnitude of this new reality release all of the worries and concerns he’d had up until now about all of this, instead, feeling a new certainty, an exciting view of the world around him blossoming in that moment, his arms squeezing her impossibly tighter as she laughed above him, his voice soft, reverent, “I’m not alone.”  
  


* * *


	2. Alpha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He felt it though, moving closer, coming into sharp focus, the strange tingling spreading across his skin, the way it felt like a touch of static electricity making all of the hair on his head tickle, and then he turned, discovering that the one he thought was a child was actually a boy who appeared to be about his own age, understanding that this was the new Junior who would be dancing with them, clearing his throat in nervousness, “You must be Chinen.”
> 
> He stretched to the side, doing his best to stay focused on his warm-ups, when the boy responded, his voice so soft and unassuming, but at the same time holding an element that made it clear that despite his size he was not to be underestimated, “You must be Yama-chan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far:
> 
> World--
> 
> -There is something that is hereditary, linked to heritage  
> -Some people believe it is not real, just a legend  
> -Granny Yamada clearly believes it is real  
> -Momma Yamada does not, or refuses to believe
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Yuri:  
> -felt an instant need to go to where Ryosuke was the first time he saw him  
> -felt like he knew him, in a deeply spiritual way  
> -he does not adhere to fate, rather is determined to make his own choices  
> -his heart/chest aches randomly which always makes him need to go to Ryosuke  
> -his sister has the same experience as him  
> -his sister understands what he's going through to the extent that it matches her experience  
> -he is able to communicate with Ryosuke on a 'soul' level  
> -he can 'read' Ryosuke through images as well  
> -he can understand subtle things about others who are interacting with Ryosuke  
> -the best way he can describe how he feels about Ryosuke is 'warm'  
> -he can't imagine not having the place in his heart where Ryosuke is now  
> -despite all of this, the only thing that he really wants, more than anything is Ryosuke's happiness

* * *

It was another sleepless night, Ryosuke slapped his hands on the mattress in frustration, growling as he rolled over onto his side, his eyes moving past the curtains in the window to the stars beyond. He blinked lazily, wishing sleep would just take him so he could be renewed, but his mind was so busy, rushing in every direction as he tried to process all of the things he had to do the next day, all of the responsibilities he needed to see to, all of the people who were counting on him.  
  
 _There’s so much to take care of._  
  
He went over his mental to-do list for what had to have been the hundredth time in the last hour.  
  
Frustrated, he felt small and alone with just the stars shining on him, and he wondered...as he had come to do quite often when he was feeling stressed or extraordinarily overwhelmed, holding his breath, his voice soft in the air around himself.  
  
“Are you there?”  
  
For a moment there was nothing, and he wondered, as a matter of question, if he was mentally ill and needed to speak to someone about these delusions he continued to experience but...  
  
Then...he felt it.  
  
The only way he could describe it was like a soft feather moving up his spine...a tingling sensation, almost a tickle but not quite...subtle and delicate, and then it would move across his shoulders and before he could usually make sense of what was happening his heart was so warm.  
  
It was like a sip of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day, or the way it felt to hold your fingertips out to warm them on a fire while it’s cold and snowing outside—except, it was his heart that felt that way.  
  
He hummed softly at the sensation, rolling over onto his back, his hand drawing up to rest lightly on his chest, reveling in the feeling, in the emotions that came with the feeling, the sensations that grew from the feelings—so many subtle nuances of what was happening that would be lost to him if he were asleep.  
  
His eyes fluttered closed, focusing on his breathing, on being still so he could feel everything.  
  
His mind fell silent, stilled as if someone had gently shushed him, and he felt nestled within the safety of a feeling...of an emotion.  
  
He knew it was insane, he understood you can’t feel emotions like that and certainly you didn’t have conversations with emotions, but...well, he did.  
  
He had no understanding of what this was or why it sometimes happened to him. He had grown up to this point reading every story he could get his hands on about ghosts and supernatural phenomenon—strangely fixated on it thanks to his ‘lessons’ at his Granny Yamada’s knees, desperately needing to know and understand.  
  
Though, even now, he really doesn’t know or particularly understand anything.  
  
In fact, most of the time his discoveries left him terrified of his own shadows and looking around every corner in paranoia.  
  
Still, the biggest part of him believed this, the feeling, the emotion—it was most decidedly something otherworldly.  
  
Which was a little scary, at least it could feel that way when he wasn’t in the midst of the experience—when the aura was gone and his heart was back to being normal again—then in that stark reality it was hard to imagine how this could be anything good.  
  
But now?  
  
In this moment, when he was slowly being engulfed by the warm, gentle caress of whatever this was?  
  
It was healing.  
  
It was hope.  
  
It gave him the feeling he could do anything.  
  
His worries were popped like bubbles one by one, and his concerns dissipated almost instantly.  
  
Every part of himself that had worry was soothed.  
  
Every facet of his soul that had felt inadequate felt lifted up.  
  
Whatever this was, whether the result of his own desperation or an act of a power beyond his understanding—this emotion spoke courage into him, told him he was good enough, strong enough, more than enough for anything. That he was unique and special, that he was made to do great things, and that he should love himself.  
  
It wasn’t easy, there were times he rebelled at the emotion, not believing or maybe most of the time not wanting to believe the ideologies it seemed to share so easily—but the emotion was nothing if not persistent.  
  
Patient, and gentle, it would wait for Ryosuke to come to accept the message that it was working so hard to convey.  
  
 _You are enough._  
  
Sometimes, like this very night, Ryosuke would even be soft enough to believe it.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
It would be impossible for Yuri to be more excited—he could literally think of nothing between heaven and earth that could make him more excited than this moment.  
  
They were moving to Tokyo, finally…FINALLY, they were moving to the city, and Johnny’s had already contacted him with information about work they’d have prepared for him.  
  
He didn’t care about the promises of anything, nothing mattered, the only thing that mattered was that he was going to meet _him_ , to finally see the boy, to see Ryosuke.  
  
He wanted to smack his own head for using his name in such an informal way—but he felt like he knew him, he couldn’t shake it, and he couldn’t stop thinking it was just the way it was…the way it had to be.  
  
He’d told his manager when he had called him to tell him about the work, confirming when he would be arriving and such, “I don’t care what other work you give me, but I want Shounen Club.”  
  
The manager said it wasn’t a problem, but that despite being there as long as he had been, since he didn’t have experience singing and dancing like the other boys, he would start in the back.  
  
“I don’t care, I just want to be on Shounen Club, put me anywhere, but make it happen.”  
  
 _Please…I need to go there._  
  
 _I need to go there so I can take a deep breath again._  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Yuri figured he should be nervous, but for the sake of himself he couldn’t work up a single butterfly in this tummy, rather, he just felt sweet anticipation as his manager led him through the building, turning to glance back at him as he spoke, “You’ll be running through the routine with some of the other Juniors, and then you’ll perform in tonight’s show—it…things work fast, I don’t have to tell you that it’s important you keep up.”  
  
Yuri stopped himself from rolling his eyes, knowing it would be entirely too disrespectful when the man was just trying to be helpful, but honestly, he had every dance they’d ever done on the program memorized by heart—whatever they were going to do would not be an issue.  
  
“It won’t be a problem,” Yuri stated firmly, his heart beating fast, because he felt it…felt the warmth, radiating toward him as he moved down the hallway.  
  
 _He’s here._  
  
“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” his manager smiled as he opened the door to the rehearsal room, ushering Yuri in, “Those boys over there are the ones you’ll be dancing with tonight, you go on over, I’ll be over after I take care of some things.”  
  
“Alright,” Yuri muttered, his voice caught in his throat because he really was there.  
  
Standing across the room with four other boys was Yamada Ryosuke.  
  
 _Please…I need to go there._  
  
 _I need to go there so I can take a deep breath again._  
  
His feet moved without his will, taking him toward the place he knew he needed to go, his heart thundering in his chest, eyes fixated on _the boy_ as he moved past the others.  
  
He could feel it, the way the boy was nervous, the energy around him chaotic and wild, worst than how it usually felt to Yuri, so he wished, with his whole heart he pushed comfort to him, hoping that his support could reach him where he was.  
  
“Kawaii,” one of the boys exclaimed as he moved past him, and normally Yuri would play that up but he couldn’t be bothered with it right now.  
  
Not when the boy was turning, his body twisting in place as his torso turned, his expression seeming to be a little confused, but more than that, full of wonder when their eyes met. The only thing Yuri could think in that moment was no one, anywhere, in all of time and space shined as brightly as this boy did, relishing the feeling as his warmth wrapping around him in a soft embrace.  
  
“You must be Chinen,” Ryosuke asked his voice soft and melodic just like Yuri imagined it would be in person, his body still in motion, stretching his legs as he looked him over.  
  
“You must be Yama-chan,” Yuri responded quickly, surprised he could talk at all, because he still hadn’t taken a deep breath, it felt even now like there was an elephant sitting on his chest.  
  
Ryosuke’s eyes widened at the familiarity of the name, then laughed as he shook his head, “Seriously?”  
  
Ryosuke stood up, and maybe Yuri should have felt shame or at the very least embarrassment for being so forward, but in truth, Yuri just couldn’t be bothered by it, shrugging, curious about the fact that he could sense the boy’s warmth but that he still didn’t feel like things were right, still couldn’t catch his breath, wondering absently if he just needed to soak him up more or something.  
  
 _I’m here now…this is a start at least._  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
Ryosuke blinked when he felt something creeping up his spine, the soft flutter of a feather against his skin, the emotion, the feeling he had come to see as synonymous with healing, with happiness, with support and unconditional love. The strange sensation he didn’t have a name for because he wasn’t convinced it wasn’t just a figment of his own imagination to begin with. It was undeniable in the moment though, as he could feel it growing in power, in concentration. He turned his head, flipping his hair out of his eyes as he peeked over to the doorway where one of the managers from upstairs had just walked in with a small child following behind him.  
  
Surely, the manager wasn’t responsible for the emotion, and it seemed to him impossible that the child would be involved, and for the millionth time, Ryosuke couldn’t help but question his sanity.  
  
 _Shut up and do your job._  
  
He felt a wave of peace roll across his body, soothed by its presence, not used to it being here in the daytime. He rolled his head on his shoulders, trying to loosen up, trying to dispel the weird energy taking hold of him, turning away to face the wall, trying to clear his head.  
  
He felt it though, moving closer, coming into sharp focus, the strange tingling spreading across his skin, the way it felt like a touch of static electricity making all of the hair on his head tickle, and then he turned, discovering that the one he thought was a child was actually a boy who appeared to be about his own age, understanding that this was the new Junior who would be dancing with them, clearing his throat in nervousness, “You must be Chinen.”  
  
He stretched to the side, doing his best to stay focused on his warm-ups, when the boy responded, his voice so soft and unassuming, but at the same time holding an element that made it clear that despite his size he was not to be underestimated, “You must be Yama-chan.”  
  
Ryosuke felt like all the wind had been knocked out of him, like a giant had punched him in the gut, and it seemed like the room was tilting a bit when he abruptly stood up, yet, he couldn’t make sense of it, his eyes widening, trying to figure out if he’d met this boy before.  
  
 _Do I know him?_  
  
He knew in his heart he didn’t, that they’d never met—but something, something was there, the emotion so vibrant and alive, something tugging at the inner recesses of his mind, screaming for him to close the distance, to enter into this boy’s space, to feel the static more fully—but he stood his ground, clenching his fists tightly at his side, absently berating himself for getting so carried away, “Seriously?”  
  
He knew that he should not let this kid show up and act like this, after all, he’d already learned that this was not the kind of environment to get too friendly with others, to get too chummy when in truth they were all fighting for the same, sadly few, spotlights.  
  
 _No, best to not be too friendly._  
  
Even as the thought flitted through his mind, he smiled, laughing softly at the tiny boy who was so brave and bold who made him feel like he was touching a live wire, “C’mon then, let’s see how you can dance.”  
  
The boy nodded, smiling broadly as he stepped forward, his determination clear on his face, “Try to keep up, Yama-chan.”  
  
Ryosuke laughed at that, signaling for the tech to start the music, starting to enjoy the strange feeling that seemed to be settling on his skin, dumbfounded by how bold this boy was, yet, somehow feeling like it was the most natural thing in the world, “I’ll do my best.”  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Ryosuke grabbed at the box that had been shoved under his bed for what seemed like a decade ago despite only having been placed there a few weeks before, dragging it out with a huff. He lifted the lid, looking cautiously at the papers held within.  
  
He felt guilty.  
  
He knew his Mom would be really upset with him for this, that she didn’t like him to read about this, to study it, and he’d done his best to honor her desires while also not neglecting his own.  
  
Because it was a compulsion at this point—the absolute need for knowledge, for understanding, to be clear on what was and wasn’t true—because he was experiencing things, strange things, wonderful things, but things that no science book he’d ever read seemed to address, and the few times he’d been brave enough to google had led him to places he certainly was neither prepared nor mature enough to remotely consider.  
  
He knew his parents only wanted the best for him, that they only meant to do what they believed was right and good, and they really didn’t understand...had absolutely no idea how vital it was at this point that Ryosuke be able to connect the dots between what was and what is, to what had been to what will be.  
  
He leaned over, pulling his binder from under the bed, opening it to run his fingers across the smooth plastic that covered the letters held safely within reverently.  
  
His fingers running over the vast stack of letters in the box, likely at least a hundred more letters, which he hadn’t read yet. He’d started trying to put them in order a few weeks ago, when he’d inadvertently discovered them in the hall closet.  
  
That had been a rough day in the Yamada household.  
  
They’d all said a lot of things, and there were still a lot of open wounds, but he knew his parents loved him and they didn’t mean to hurt him—but they had.  
  
 _Deeply._  
  
He sighed, pushing away the pain, trying to focus on what he was doing, what he was looking for.  
  
 _Answers._  
  
 _Why am I so different than everyone else?_  
  
 _Why can’t I just be like the other boys?_  
  
 _What is wrong with me?_  
  
 _Why do I feel like I’m being called to something?_  
  
 _Should I be afraid? I am afraid, but should I be?_  
  
The questions were never ending, stretching out into hours, and days, and weeks.  
  
All he wanted was to understand, and his heart told him that the answer was in this box, in these pages.  
  
He dug into the pile of letters, dragging his fingers through them as he closed his eyes, letting go of everything in hopes of allowing chance to do a better job at giving him what he needed since his own will seemed far too inadequate, his voice a whisper as he ran across the stiff folds of the envelopes, begging to be led to one that would make a difference to him, “Please, please...”  
  
He pulled a letter out, checking the date and then grabbing a new sleeve, sliding it carefully into it and then flipping open the binder to put it where it belonged.  
  
In truth, he just didn’t have the patience to sit at one time to sort all the letters by date so he could read them in proper order, he was too consumed with wanting to know now.  
  
Right now.  
  
Yesterday would have been even better.  
  
The day before had started off like any other day he’d ever lived, getting up, going to school, reporting to Johnny’s for rehearsals, and then...his world felt like it had been flipped upside down—because the emotion was real. There was a human being attached to the emotion—something that neither made sense nor answered questions—simply created even more of them.  
  
In his wildest dreams he couldn’t have imagined that there was a real person responsible for the emotion he’d been experiencing—but he simply could not deny that the boy, Chinen, who had shown up at Johnny’s yesterday was without a doubt the origination of the emotion.  
  
In some ways, maybe that should be a comfort, but the truth was, it was confusing—it didn’t make any sense, and the past 24 hours had been a whirlwind of Ryosuke deciding he had imagined every single aspect of all of this then immediately deciding that there was something bigger at play—something stronger than his own will, and that it was sort of like being directed by an unknown source to show up in that one place at that exact time in all of history.  
  
Between the idea that he was actually delusional and insane, versus there being a supernatural power? He had decided it made sense to remember what his Granny Yamada had said to him so many times it floated in front of his eyes when he thought of the words.  
  
 _Trust your heart._  
  
So, here he sat with the box of letters hoping against hope that there was something, anything within the pages that would help him understand what he was experiencing, why he had known that boy even when he most certainly did not know him at all.  
  
He’d decided it best to leave it up to chance, up to fate which letter he pulled out of the box, not just now but that’s how he had decided to approach it from the start, after randomly choosing one, he would put them in order, and then when he’d finished them all, he would be able to read them from start to finish in order.  
  
Once the new letter he’d just drawn out was safely in its protector, he pulled the binder into his lap, focusing on the newest addition, slowly reading the words.  
  
-  
 _Ryo-chan,_  
  
 _They gave me a new pen today—honestly, I don’t know why they insist on giving me plain black pens. How dull. I know for a fact they make colored pens._  
  
 _How hard would it be for them to give me a pink one?_  
  
 _A purple one?_  
  
 _I mean really._  
  
 _I haven’t heard from you, I wonder if you even receive these letters or not?_  
-  
  
Ryosuke growled, his hands wanting to throw something, shaking with the desire to pitch a fit, because he hadn’t received these letters, no, his father in his infinite wisdom had taken all of these letters and hidden them from him. His mother had agreed to this, in his best interest of course.  
  
To protect him.  
  
From his grandmother.  
  
It was ridiculous and while he was on his way to forgiving his parents for their absolutely stupid decisions, he couldn’t understand why they couldn’t have been more understanding, more compassionate. Instead of trying to force him into who they wanted him to be, if they had just embraced who he really was.  
  
Because he’d never been “normal”—not from the first memory he had of himself until now. There was something that always set him apart from everyone else, sometimes a positive and many times, too many to count, a definite negative.  
  
If only they had acknowledged it, helped him understand so he wouldn’t consider every aspect of himself to be flawed...well, it hardly mattered now—he sighed, releasing the negative tension, focusing on the words on the page again.  
  
-  
 _Let’s see...where was I last time?_  
  
 _This old mind isn’t as it once was, so forgive me if I am repetitive but it’s all so important, and no one cares about anything anymore, but they should. I don’t want you to_ _be caught unaware. You deserve to be told the truth._  
  
 _I know who you really are, and you should know too._  
  
 _So...like I said in the last letter—at the dawn of time the world was a hostile place and it seemed like even time itself was against humans. In truth, it sort of was, and in that, as is often truth, nature can become your enemy or your salvation, or as sometimes happens—both._  
  
 _Among the humans a strange phenomenon took place, a hybrid human. Now don’t try to ask me what it is hybrid with? Who can say? Aliens? Animals? Gods? I don’t know, and maybe none of us ever will—let’s just count it as a mystery that will ever remain as such._  
  
 _The Hybrids were a special kind of human, a super human if you will...they had special sensory perceptions, able to communicate with their minds...well, that’s the simple version of it and I’ll leave it at that for the moment. They could tell things about each other, and they were alive for a very specific purpose._  
  
 _To ensure survival of the human race._  
  
 _Honestly, I don’t suppose there was any other big reason for this—it was because the humans were dying at an insanely rapid pace and in a few decades they would have been extinct._  
  
 _Gone the way of the Dodo bird._  
  
 _I don’t know about you but I would rather not be like a Dodo?_  
  
 _Well, your old Granny is tired, so I will stop story time here for now—but I’ll send the rest along as much as I can._  
  
 _I wish I could hear from you._  
  
 _Until then, I love you my dear grandson, and if you need me I am right here. Please take gentle care of you and most important—trust your heart._  
  
 _I love you,_  
 _Granny Yamada_  
-  
  
Ryosuke stared at the page, his fingers tracing the delicate letters, wondering if he could find out what happened to his Granny, where she was buried, so he could go to see her.  
  
He shoved the stuff back under his bed, moving to his desk to do his homework, but he couldn’t really stop wondering about this, about these “hybrid” humans, and for sure why his Granny kept saying she wanted him to know who he was...each letter led to more and more questions instead of answers, but he had to hope that by the end he would surely understand and have the answers he was so desperately seeking.

* * *

  
  
Ryosuke and Yuri were in one of the seldom used practice rooms, sitting on the floor, contemplating life...or at least they supposed most people would assume something like that if they saw them.  
  
The truth was, they were just together.  
  
It wasn’t deeper than that, not for either of them really—it was just, since the moment Yuri had shown up in that room those months ago, everything had been different—and if they didn’t find time to just sit together to sort of connect, it made them both struggle with handling everything they had to do.  
  
So, it had become a priority to ensure they spent a few minutes every day just being near each other. They hadn’t ever talked about it, there was no formal agreement, rather, it just seemed to happen as a natural part of their lives, of going through their day to day motions.  
  
Yuri stretched his foot out, nudging Ryosuke’s leg where he sat on the floor across from him, “Nervous?”  
  
Ryosuke shrugged, “I guess a little…I don’t like not knowing what is going on, and that seems to be the norm these days…”  
  
“Everything is going to be okay,” Yuri responded, his voice soft, “Don’t worry.”  
  
Ryosuke sighed, knowing Yuri was absolutely right, but it was never quite as simple as he made it seem, his mind whirling with all of the possibilities…after all, there had been some crazy rumors going around among the Johnny’s—rumors of debuts and disbandments, of broken hearts and rising dreams—and yet, Ryosuke had no idea where he belonged in any of it, as the only thing they’d been told was that they were not to talk about anything to anyone.  
  
Of course, it wasn’t like the company was forthright in general but in this case, they were locked down like they were holding trade secrets worth millions and for all Ryosuke knew—maybe they did?  
  
He certainly didn’t count himself savvy enough business wise to have full comprehension of what this all might mean but the truth was, he was smart enough to know that putting together the perfect group could make or break Johnny’s and so far they’d been nothing but successful. Given the number of current Juniors, it was clear they had a broad talent pool to choose from. There would be no reason for whomever they choose to not be successful…but for those who weren’t chosen?  
  
Who could say when or if they’d debut more groups?  
  
 _If I don’t debut soon, I’ll have to think of something else to do…something I know I can be successful at._  
  
Of course, Hey! Say! 7 had been successful but it was a sub-group, something meant to be a one-hit wonder and nothing more and he knew that—they’d all known that. He’d looked around, and painfully, despite not wanting to, he had to admit, it was probably going to be JJ Express, or Ya-Ya-Yah who would debut…and that meant he wouldn’t be there.  
  
Not him…nor Yuri either.  
  
At that thought his eyes lifted, discovering Yuri staring at him, his eyes soft with an emotion Ryosuke wasn’t sure he understood, or perhaps he didn’t want to understand, because he still didn’t have a very firm grasp on what this weird flow of energy was between the two of them, and so far hadn’t found answers in his research or in his Granny’s letters.  
  
Still, either way, he generally tried to ignore the way Yuri looked at him.  
  
He had an intensity, a sort of underlying feeling that flowed from him that Ryosuke didn’t understand and honestly, he was a little scared of.  
  
When he was near Yuri, he felt things…felt things deeply, strongly, and powerfully.  
  
Not just the emotions, but...everything was different, every part of life and living.  
  
He had zero understanding for it, nor an explanation—all he knew was that he’d met a lot of people, and spent a ton of time around a million and one boys—but not a single one made him feel the way Yuri did.  
  
And it wasn’t just the flow of the energy between them, it was so much more than that, something Ryosuke didn’t think he’d ever be able to articulate to anyone...something so real, so genuine, and deep...meaningful...and uniquely theirs.  
  
He felt like he was something important, special…the way Yuri looked at him made him forget all the things he hated about himself. When Yuri looked at him—he was no longer that short, tiny, effeminate, chubby cheeked, round little boy.  
  
He felt like he was more, more than he could imagine being when Yuri looked at him, and he felt a power from being near him—a drive to be successful, a need to prove himself, to stand up tall and make sure people noticed him, that they took him seriously, that no one dared to dismiss him—and in truth, Yuri made him brave.  
  
He made him want to do better, to be better, to try harder, and for Yuri?  
  
He wanted to always stand forward, to be ahead of him so he could hit the walls, so the fists that would come flying would hit him instead, so that he could stumble over the cracks in the pavement to clear the way, to ensure that the road laid out before Yuri was safe and smooth and easily traveled.  
  
He made him want to protect him, to take care of him, and that’s pretty much exactly what he did.  
  
Ryosuke jumped when the door opened to the small room the two had hidden away in, Kota peeking in, “It’s time guys…”  
  
Ryosuke nodded, standing up quickly and reaching down his hand to help Yuri stand up. The moment Yuri took his hand he felt a sense of security, even more so when he looked to discover Yuri smiling at him as he pulled him up off the floor.  
  
“No matter what happens today, everything is going to be okay,” Yuri said softly, the tone betraying how serious the words were, how much conviction there was in them.  
  
“How can you be so sure?” Ryosuke squeezed Yuri’s hand, unwilling to break the connection yet, wanting to hold on just a little longer.  
  
Yuri held Ryosuke’s gaze, smiling softly as he squeezed his hand in return, leaning forward a bit to impress the words upon him, “Because we’ll be together—no matter what happens today—we’ll still have each other.”  
  
Ryosuke blinked, all of the concerns and worries falling to the floor around him as Yuri broke things down into the simplest terms, making quick work of all the ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybe this’ scenarios that had been running through his head.  
  
He moved to leave, pulling on Yuri’s hand as they went to the door, to go see what the day would hold, and now, instead of being afraid, Ryosuke was secure—because he knew, no matter what, they really would have each other.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Ryosuke was constantly confused by his attachment to Yuri. It wasn’t that it bothered him per say, it was just... _weird._  
  
He felt like he needed to take care of him, and God help anyone who so much as looked at him wrong.  
  
He really didn’t understand why he was so protective but he supposed maybe it was just because he was so tiny and small.  
  
 _After all, it isn’t like I’m the only one who does it, pretty much everyone in Jump does it._  
  
He sighed as he dismissed the thoughts, focusing on the new letter he’d randomly drawn out to place in his binder.  
  
-  
 _Ryo-chan,_  
  
 _We had fresh strawberries from the community garden today! Do you still love strawberries? I wonder if you do?_  
  
 _I make a pretty mean shortcake._  
  
 _One day I’m going to make you one! How would that be? Look forward to it!_  
  
 _Meanwhile, let me think about where I was last time..._  
  
 _Alphas? Is that right?  
  
Well, you’re not going to tell me, now are you? haha_  
  
 _Okay, so Alpha, I mean it’s like the boss right? They sort of are a bit of control freaks. I mean, I guess they probably weren’t all that way in the beginning, back when things were simple then I bet they were just demanding, after all they were just meaning to repop..._  
-  
  
Ryosuke wondered at the scratched out part of the letter, confused as he tried to hold the letter up to the light to see what it might say but it was impossible.  
  
-  
 _Ah well, maybe I’ll share that bit with you when you’re a bit older—how old are you now? Seven? Eight? Maybe you’re nine—I don’t have a calendar so it’s impossible for me to tell but I bet you’re still the cutest little boy ever!_  
  
 _Anyways, Alphas, well, if you look at people today, I think they’re pretty easy to spot, right? They’re gonna be your powerful people, successful people, leaders. Now, don’t get me wrong—it doesn’t necessarily have to look like what you’d think—they can be an Alpha and appear to be shy and not reflect success in the world’s definition of it—but if you are near one of these people you’ll know it. It doesn't really matter that the trait is dormant, it's still there, so it does sort of present itself in a way even if it's not the biological way it once did._  
  
 _Most of the Alphas realize what they are but honestly, it doesn’t matter—they’re not “activated” so to speak. So, they’re really just glorified Betas...oh, Betas are just your average, perfectly normal human beings._  
  
 _Don’t look down on them, they’re perfectly normal human beings—the operative word here being perfectly. Just love those precious souls where they are, okay?_  
  
 _Oh, dinner time—it’s ramen night! WOO!_  
  
 _Take care, and don’t forget—TRUST YOUR HEART!_  
  
 _Love, Granny Yamada_  
  


* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･*
> 
> Awwwhhhnnnn the sweet boys finally meet in person. My heart is afluttery mess haha =)


	3. Hybrid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryosuke became fury personified.
> 
> He moved forward, intent on pushing Yuri behind his own body to shelter him, and then he would take care of this situation, the uncontrollable rage at this woman threatening to harm Yuri causing everything to spin into red before his eyes.
> 
> He’d grabbed Yuri, pulling him to safety as he tucked him behind his body, but before he could act on the screaming in his head that was telling him to eliminate the threat—Keito had moved like a flash between himself and the woman—pushing her back, and somehow everything instantly cleared, his vision returned to normal, and he felt Yuri push at his hands, trying to move back into the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far: (refer to this section at the start of each chapter for recaps of the chapter before)
> 
> World--  
> -humans were growing extinct  
> -a hybrid was formed which existed with the express purpose to ensure the survival of the human race
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Ryosuke:  
> -recognizes the connection, something he sees as an emotion, with something other than himself that is healing and a source of beneficial guideance and peace  
> -recognizes that Yuri is the source of the emotion  
> -trusts fate to guide him to the information he needs to know when he knows it  
> -his parents had hid the letters from him (could have destroyed them but did not)  
> -feels very strongly there is something he's being called to, that he's set apart  
> -feels a protective instinct about Yuri
> 
> Yuri:  
> -feels a familiarity with Ryosuke that goes beyond society's proper 'norms'  
> -honest to God couldn't care less about it lol
> 
> ABO--  
> -have extra sensory abilities  
> -can communicate with their minds  
> -can tell things about one another through methods normal humans can not
> 
> Alphas:  
> -want to control their environment  
> -are successful (not just in human terms)  
> -natural born leaders--people are drawn to them  
> -powerful
> 
> Betas:  
> -normal human beings without the Alpha or Omega traits  
> -they should be seen as the perfect species--not the AO hybrids

* * *

Ryosuke had been sitting in quiet introspection for so long his sister had fallen asleep next to him on the couch. As the tiny little baby girl wiggled in his arms he glanced over at her, feeling a little helpless, worried he might do something wrong...hurt her...break her.

She was so tiny.

The smallest thing he could imagine.

He'd had plenty of pets, their house growing up was like a menagerie--but this? 

This was nothing like that--she was nothing like that. 

She was something so surreal, so beyond real life he couldn't really comprehend it.

He understood all the mental stuff of course, why he felt the way he did psychologically--because, after all, he always wanted children--like from the moment he was old enough to remember feeling strongly about things, he felt like he wanted to be a father more than anything. Given the nature of his work, and the fact that it was pretty frowned on for them to have any sort of relationships which would certainly hinder the ability to produce a child, let alone a healthy, happy environment for said child--well, the prospects of becoming a father seemed to loom further and further away from his grasp exponentially for every year that passed. 

Honestly, it wasn't that he was being negative about it either. Certainly, as a child he couldn't have truly comprehended the way his work would impede his ability to have normal relationships--as a matter of fact, that was sort of the furthest thing from his mind when he joined, not even remotely on his radar. Yet, when he did get old enough to understand the logistics of it, understand the repercussions for him on a personal level--then he knew for sure that it would be a decision he needed to make.

So, he made it.

He recognized that he sincerely wanted to be an idol. He loves his work, loves being who he is, singing, dancing, acting, entertaining. It wasn't who he was from the start, but it is who he had become and now he couldn't imagine being anyone else, anything else.

Certainly, when he considered things from an unbiased view, he realized that when he was about thirteen or fourteen years old, having been in Johnny's long enough to understand the logistics and the way his future would be controlled by the company--he really did face that choice. He was still playing sports, and he knew he could fulfill the part of him that wanted to be in the spotlight--that had grown used to the lights and the adoration--that was something that he could still have if he wanted to--through soccer. 

He was a good athlete--and if he wanted to pursue soccer, even after his few years with Johnny's he still could with a bit of training and effort--in fact, he was pretty darn sure he'd be wildly successful and a super soccer star by the end of it all.

Yet, when the choice sort of fell in front of him, and he stood at the crossroads, there really was no choice at all.

He didn't name it as such at the time, maybe it was because he was too conflicted, too in denial, but he could say it now because he knew--he wasn't going to leave Yuri.

At that point it was no longer about the music or the shows, the lights nor the fans, not the acclaim or excitement--while all of those things were each and all something he loved about his lifestyle--not a single one of them factored into his choice to remain a Johnny.

Instead, when each item stacked up and he went one by one, they all fell away for pros and cons until there was only one thing left to decide--and that was the knowledge that he would become a superstar one way or another, he knew it in his heart--but one of those paths led him to a future where he'd have Yuri by his side--and the other led them down separate, independent ones.

It wasn't hard after that to be sure, and as such, he threw himself into being the best idol he could be--because there was no hesitation anymore, and wouldn't be again.

He hadn't wondered about that choice since then--not until the minute they'd placed this tiny little bundle of sweet precious joy into his arms about two hours ago.

It was in a single breath that he had the feeling he'd faced down flood back to him, so much so it made his heart hurt, a deep hurt that had made him wonder momentarily if he was actually needing to go to the hospital--because the ache was so bad it made him breathless, he had to sit down, had to wave off the baby, make his sister take her so he could go to the bathroom to compose himself. 

He had what could only be expressed as a breakdown in the bathroom, a physical, mental, emotional, spiritual breakdown that made him think he might not only need to go to the hospital but also the psych ward. He had pain, everywhere, like fire was burning through his veins, and it felt like his heart was trying to explode within the walls of his chest, beating wildly in a melody that was like singing a song of a different time. His entire form was drawn up into a small ball, feeling fragile and tender, as if a single touch would shatter him, and all he could think, the only words that were able to make it through the fog of pain and confusion were "I need."

He couldn't define it, couldn't put a name to it, but that was all there was, the plea wrapped within the tendrils of pain radiating from it feeling like he was being taken apart bit by bit and remade into something different. 

He had reached out to drag his phone over to try to call the emergency units when someone knocked on the door, and he'd sighed in immediate relief when he heard Yuri's voice from the other side, "Yama-chan, sorry I am late--your sister said you were not feeling well--do you need me to take you to medical?"

"N-No," he whimpered, his hand clutching his chest as a new wave of pain radiated through his body, and the moment Yuri had heard it, he opened the door, not caring in the least what he might find on the other side, panic suffusing his being as he discovered Ryosuke on the bathroom floor.

He scrambled to him, grabbing him up in his arms, "What do you need? What do you need me to do?"

"She's the cutest ever isn't she?" 

Ryosuke blinked out of the memory he'd been having, glancing over at Yuri, who was leaning over to peek down at the tiny baby girl in his arms, smiling so sweetly up at him when he looked to see what Ryosuke thought.

"She is," he nodded, then leaned forward to press his forehead against Yuri's cheek, "Thank you again." 

"Pfft," Yuri shrugged, still not sure how him entering the bathroom had apparently miraculously solved whatever medical crisis was happening at the time with Ryosuke, but thankful it had. 

"You're still going to get checked out, you promised," Yuri drew his head back so he could see Ryosuke's eyes, to make sure he wouldn't lie to him, and was relieved when Ryosuke nodded, "Good."

That night when Ryosuke was drifting off to sleep, he was warm and soft and filled with joy--it was as if he could still feel the weight of his niece in his arms, as if he could smell her against his skin--it was such a treasure--such a gift...and there in the midst of it, was Yuri, wrapped around him, driving away the darkness that threatened to consume him. He might not ever really understand what had happened that day--because it was horrible, and something he never wanted to relive--but at the same time, he walked away from that moment somehow...stronger.

He dreamed of tiny baby toes and hiccups that night, and the soft, tender touch of Yuri's hand within his own.  


* * *

It had been a chaotic few weeks, preparing for the upcoming release of their new album, everyone felt like their schedules were cram packed full from the moment they woke up until they went to sleep. It was one of those days, as the boys who were still in school had arrived to the studio immediately after having been picked up from school. They were ushered to different rooms to prepare their hair, makeup and wardrobe, and then they were off doing their solo shoots first.  
  
When they first started doing these photo shoots it was awkward and weird, and to be honest, Ryosuke wasn’t really fond of it. But then some of his most trusted senpai had shared some tips with him, one being that every picture he took was a chance to win a heart—and he took that seriously, so he started to study pictures in magazines to see what set apart one that was average versus one that made you stop and linger, to really pour over the picture because it left you feeling something.  
  
Having finished up his solo shots, he was given instructions to go to the changing room, and then report to studio 3. He did as asked, rolling his eyes when he looked at the outfit they had waiting for him.  
  
_A red panda?_  
  
_Really?_  
  
There was nothing to be done for it, of course, they didn’t get too much say at this point about their wardrobe decisions, generally the photographer dressed them, but there had been some outfits he really hated. Of course, Johnny’s had managed to fine tune the process of having images taken for all of the various magazines down to a science, never taking more than two days generally which was good given the nature of their busy schedules.  
  
He wanted to be mad about their schedules, cause the fact was he was seriously missing Yuri...it wasn’t that they hadn’t seen each other but with their schedules they really had not had any time to just be near each other—but he couldn’t be mad about it—after all he wanted to be a success, for them to be a success and this is what that looks like and feels like.  
  
Ryosuke glanced at himself in the mirror, twisting to see the long tail attached to the back of the costume and then shook his head, it wasn’t as bad as some of the things they’d dressed him up in to be fair. At least it wasn’t him having to dress as a girl. This could definitely be okay, so he’d do it and he’d be cute while he did.  
  
The bonus was that he figured if Yuri saw the pictures he’d tease him and they’d have a good laugh about it.  
  
Resigned to it, he headed to the studio, walking through the door, his heart leaping when he saw Yuri sitting on the floor of the staged area, legs crossed, looking like the cutest little squirrel he’d ever seen in his whole life.  
  
Yuri’s eyes lifted, drawn to where Ryosuke had just walked in, in tune with him no matter where he was generally, but especially so when he was missing him so much. The last few days had been really stressful, work had been tough, and to top it off he had barely even spent two minutes with Ryosuke between all the other chaos.  
  
He’d spent the last 24 hours in a near full blown panic-attack mode. Then, it was as if he felt like his heart rate slowed, and he no longer felt the impending doom he had been feeling, instantly calming down, as if the stress he’d been feeling all day melted the moment Ryosuke walked into the room.  
  
Well, it did.  
  
Even if he couldn’t explain how or why—it did.  
  
“Hey you,” Ryosuke moved to sit next to Yuri, glancing over at him, not missing how bright his expression had become.  
  
“Hey you back,” Yuri responded, glancing at Ryosuke’s outfit, “You’re a cute panda.”  
  
“You’re a cute squirrel,” Ryosuke smiled, reaching over to grab the hood on his costume and pull it up onto his head, much to Yuri’s protests, laughing at how cute he was.  
  
The photographer explained they were doing animal themed pairings and they’d went through several standard cute, playful poses—playing with balloons and bouncing balls...and then they said they were going to do a few couples poses.  
  
It wasn’t a bother for the boys, all of them understood why they did these pictures and in general none of them took it seriously—it was part of the job, and they were trained and further paid to do their job after all—so if fans wanted pictures of them looking dreamily into each others eyes? Well, if at all possible, that was what they gave them.  
  
The photographer had Ryosuke shifted against the edge of the wall, his back against it with his knees bent up, forearms resting on his knees, waiting for instructions when they told Yuri to sit between his legs and lean back against him so they could get their faces close together.  
  
To be fair, if people saw half of the contorted positions they were put in to achieve the results they saw in magazines they’d be shocked. Neither of the boys thought anything of this at all, Yuri shuffled into position, leaning against Ryosuke, who in return wrapped his arms around his chest without thought.  
  
“That’s good,” the photographer called out, “Just like that.”  
  
Ryosuke was about to make some kind of joke, because generally he was the one to say silly things to keep Yuri from feeling to self-conscious and nervous. He leaned his head forward just slightly, his nose brushing Yuri’s hair and then he froze.  
  
The fragrance that hit him was like a thousand dreams melted into a river of perfection, all of his senses felt like they were tweaked at once, every nerve ending standing at attention, his heart began to beat triple time, thundering in his chest, his eyes screaming at him to close, to savor whatever this was, to pause time so that he could bathe in the scent that was tickling his nose.  
  
It was so... _Yuri_.  
  
So... _perfect_.  
  
At a base level Ryosuke couldn’t really understand, it was like the scent was branded with his own signature, like if he had been given the honor of saying what his very favorite scent would be—then this would be it.  
  
He forced his expression to remain neutral, his internal monologue including copious threats of death and/or dismemberment if his body betrayed him in any form—forcing himself to act through the situation, despite wanting nothing more than to grab Yuri and bury his face in his hair forever.  
  
Once the initial surprise and shock of the scent had worn off, he tried to take inventory of himself, realizing his heart was still wild inside his chest, and while he still wanted to throw Yuri down and...and...smell him...he felt like it was secondary to the fact that he just really, really wanted to hug him.  
  
That he could do, so he squeezed him softly in his arms, doing what the photographer told him to do while he casually leaned his head closer, sneaking another little taste of the scent. While it was still powerful and potent, it didn’t effect him quite as dramatically as the first time.  
  
“What are you doing?” Yuri whispered, keeping his head turned forward toward the camera.  
  
_Well...damn._  
  
_I guess I wasn’t as subtle as I thought._  
  
“Nothing,” Ryosuke answered quickly.  
  
“Were you...”  
  
“No,” Ryosuke stopped him before he could say it out loud and make him die of embarrassment.  
  
“Uh-huh,” the tone Yuri used made it perfectly clear he knew precisely what Ryosuke had been doing, and being the horrible human being he is, he casually tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck further to him.  
  
Ryosuke’s hands clamped around him, his teeth biting into his lower lip as he tried to refrain from playing out the myriad of scenarios that were running through his mind.  
  
“Don’t be an ass,” Ryosuke hissed, even though he moved closer to inhale more of the offered fragrance.  
  
“Then don’t lie to me,” Yuri snapped, his expression still smiling at the camera.  
  
Ryosuke hummed, not sure how to respond because he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to tell Yuri, thankful when they finally changed their position and he was no longer a constant distraction, well...at least his scent wasn’t.  
  


* * *

  
They were on a show today, some variety program to promote their new cd, and the truth was they all knew they were not very good at variety programs, all too nervous and too inexperienced to be very good—counting on Kota and Hikaru to take care of all of them because they were the only ones well versed and knew how to handle themselves.  
None of it really mattered of course, as they were entertainers, so they’d do what they came to do, and they’d make the best of it, do their very best to put a good foot forward and all of that.  
  
Then it happened.  
  
The woman shoved Yuri.  
  
Ryosuke’s hands flew up, grabbing him around the chest, dragging him back against his body, wanting to pull him behind him but knowing that it wouldn’t be wise to make it so he was hidden behind everyone…but…  
  
Oh, how he wanted to.  
  
In fact, putting Yuri behind him was one of a multitude of things Ryosuke currently wanted to do.  
  
Then…  
  
She did it _again.  
_  
And a fury arose inside of Ryosuke, fast and rampant, his hands shaking as he caught Yuri when he stumbled backward into him, his hands on his shoulders to steady him, and all he could think was that he was going to punch someone and get kicked out of Johnny’s. In fact, had he not had enough training at this point to control his expression he would have undoubtedly lost it completely, instead, he forced a nervous smile because he wasn’t sure what was happening. All he knew was a raw, powerful rage was building, his arm tightened on Yuri, intent on protecting him.  
  
And then…Yuri was gone, out of his hands, Ryosuke’s eyes wide as he watched in horror as Yuri stepped forward and shoved the woman.  
  
He was terrified…this was a risk, it was too much, and Ryosuke tried to temper his reaction of wanting to rush forward to save him.  
  
Ryosuke was also confused, because the normal docile and peaceful energy he felt around Yuri was something different now, something… _familiar_. It seemed to him that it was like seeing his own self mirrored back at him, both causing him to wonder over the new feelings and his fury to grow as it took on the energy Yuri was shedding off as he moved back in front of him.  
  
He inhaled sharply, the scent of Yuri different than normal, and a part of himself wanted to kick his own ass because he really had no idea where his thoughts were anymore.  
  
_He smells different…what the actual hell._  
  
Before he could ponder it further, he saw everything narrow, all the colors in the room fading until there was only a thin line of color pointing directly at the woman who was coming at Yuri.  
  
Ryosuke became fury personified.  
  
He moved forward, intent on pushing Yuri behind his own body to shelter him, and then he would take care of this situation, the uncontrollable rage at this woman threatening to harm Yuri causing everything to spin into red before his eyes.  
  
He’d grabbed Yuri, pulling him to safety as he tucked him behind his body, but before he could act on the screaming in his head that was telling him to eliminate the threat—Keito had moved like a flash between himself and the woman—pushing her back, and somehow everything instantly cleared, his vision returned to normal, and he felt Yuri push at his hands, trying to move back into the line.  
  
Ryosuke let him go, knowing he couldn’t force him to stay behind him, out of harm's way. He didn’t remember much after that, his mind shutting down, going into some kind of preservation mode, overwhelmed and conserving energy—on auto pilot through the rest of the program.  
  
He’d never been so glad for a program to end.  
  
When they moved down the hallway to the dressing room, he hung back, waiting for the others to move ahead, knowing Yuri would match his pace.  
  
“Don’t ever do that again,” Ryosuke spoke the words softly, but Yuri jerked to a stop beside him, his eyes wide as he looked at him.  
  
Ryosuke stopped, glancing back at him, “I’m serious, don’t do that again.”  
  
“What exactly am I not supposed to do?” Yuri snapped, frowning.  
  
“Put yourself in danger like that.”  
  
Yuri laughed, shaking his head, “What on earth are you talking about? I wasn’t in danger…”  
  
Ryosuke clenched his fists, the strange energy that Yuri had been projecting before was no longer there, just his normal soothing one. He couldn’t help feeling utterly frustrated that Yuri didn’t see what he saw, “She could have hurt you…I mean it wasn’t right for you to put yourself out there like that and it cou—”  
  
“I was _fine_ , nothing was going to happen to me,” Yuri interrupted him, stepping forward until he was beside Ryosuke, his brows drawing down as he studied him, “What’s this really about?”  
  
_I don’t ever want to lose you._  
  
_I don’t want anything to happen to you._  
  
_I need you in my life._  
  
_Please, don’t ever leave me._  
  
Ryosuke growled in aggravation at the chaotic words rushing through his mind, “I don’t know.”  
  
“I’m fine, I’m right here, and I’m fine,” Yuri reached out to touch Ryosuke’s hand, drawing it out of the fist he’d been holding at his side, wrapping his fingers around his palm, “Nothing happened to me.”  
  
Ryosuke looked over at him, his eyes filled with an expression that Yuri wasn’t sure he’d seen before, somehow a combination of pain and worry and anger, a heady emotion that Yuri wanted to cry over, but he didn’t know why.  
  
He blinked rapidly when Ryosuke’s voice shook, “I—I ca—can’t imagine if someth—if anything ever happened to you…I can’t im—”  
  
“Oh stop,” Yuri moved forward, smiling up at Ryosuke, “You don’t have to worry—I’m fine! Nothing will ever happen to me!”  
  
Ryosuke wanted to believe him, more than anything, but he just huffed, “You can’t say that like you know it for sure…”  
  
“I can,” Yuri grinned that type of smile that told Ryosuke he knew exactly how cute he was and how much power he actually had here, “…because _you’ll_ always be there to protect me.”  
  
“I—I—but…you can’t—you…”  
  
“Am I wrong?” Yuri challenged him boldly, shaking his shoulders in his absolute knowing.  
  
Ryosuke’s eyes narrowed, and he knew he couldn’t argue, shaking his head, “No.”  
  
“Alright then,” he tugged on Ryosuke’s hand, “Let’s go, you can buy me one of those ice cream sodas I like at the shop on the corner on our way to my house.”  
  
Ryosuke let himself be guided down the hallway, not sure that this was the resolution he really wanted for this situation, but absolutely sure that he had no say in the matter at this point.  
  


* * *

  
  
Days and weeks had blended together, and often Ryosuke found himself amazed when he’d went several months without digging into the box of his grandmother’s letters. It wasn’t that he’d found an answer or peace, but rather that somehow the answer to the questions and concerns seemed to be irrelevant and unimportant.  
  
He was happy.  
  
He knew that Yuri was happy.  
  
He also knew that they were who they were, and there were certainly parts of everything that he felt that he was in the most throes of denial—but that was fine, wasn’t it? Isn’t it okay to just be where you are and be satisfied with that even if it means denying yourself something more? If it means the other person is happy?  
  
Well, to Ryosuke, it seemed with how casually the world threw out the word love it had become a cheapened, shallow version of what love was ever meant to be—and in his mind?  
  
To sacrifice something you want or need for someone else’s happiness?  
  
Isn’t that what real love looks like?  
  
__  
_My dearest Ryo-chan--_  
  
_It’s been very quiet here and I wonder how things are there where you are? I wonder if you find peace because I have taken my heart and shared it here in these letters for you?  
  
Ah, don’t mind me, it’s near the holidays and they always prove to be exceptionally challenging. Maybe I will see you one day and you’ll take your old Granny to a walk in that park with all the lights they show us on tv. What a lovely thought—indeed, I will hold onto it in my heart. _  
  
_Last time I told you about the Betas, but this time I wanted to explain about the Omegas. They are really the most important of all the hybrids. I know that every Alpha there ever was would decidedly argue with me about this, because they like to fancy themselves as the most important of everyone. Honestly, there’s a negative side to a lot of Alphas in this way, but I can tell you’re not going to grow up that way._  
  
_At any rate, setting aside the general ego issue of Alphas who want to say they’re the conduit in the mechanism to bind together the hybrid system—the truth is they aren’t._  
  
_That would be the Omegas. You see, the Omegas have biological and physiological systems that are vastly complex—an intricately designed anatomy which not only could function as a perfectly normal human but also take on particular qualities that were vital to the success of the hybrid’s ability to propagate the world’s population._  
  
_They also were gifted with extra sensory gifts far beyond that of their counter hybrids, the Alphas. Quite a lot of these functions take place automatically, in order to give the Omega the chance to find the perfect partner. The goal of partnering is to create the strongest offspring—I mean the original purpose and goal was this, and in that way there was a strict biological function of nearly all of the aspects of being an Omega with an intent to discover the strongest Alpha._  
  
_Of course, as the population grew, and the hybrid trait began to degrade and become more and more rare, the emphasis seemed to change from this to one of compatibility, shying away from what had been primarily a base physical matching to a more intellectual, psychological, and emotional connection. This was the formation of “love” as we know it today, yes? In this way, the hybrids came to even better understand what made humans, well, I guess...human. As the trait finally faded, the hybrids merging in with the human population in a way it would become nearly impossible to tell them apart, they carried in their hearts the desire above all other urges—to find and give love._  
  
_It has been said that the most important thing you will ever learn is how to love and how to be loved._  
  
_This is doubly so for hybrids._  
  
_I know, I know—there goes your old Granny just waxing poetic about hybrids and humans and love and all of that—but what can I say? I’ve been labeled in many ways, and I have taken on many a title in my lifetime...but I hope you know that among all of these, there is only one that truly matters to me—that’s the one YOU gave me, “Granny”._  
  
_I love you my dear grandson!_  
  
_Granny Yamada_  
__  
  
  
The truth is, the days and months seemed to merge one into the other, but even so there has been a single thing that remained the same.  
  
Ryosuke and Yuri.  
  
Everyone thought that they had the most unique friendship, and they knew they did, something between them they could neither define or offer a proper name for, but they knew without a doubt—they were made to be friends, to be in each other’s world.  
  
They complimented each other in a way that was so rare, so unique, and they cared for each other on a different plane than other people did.  
  
Maybe this would have been a problem for other people, maybe in other professions, other lives, but for them?  
  
It was never an aspect of their lives that made them struggle but rather, in truth, it made them thrive.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Yuri had just opened the door to the locker room, stepping into the shower room when Ryosuke stepped out of one of the stalls.  
  
_Holy crap._  
  
_He...it’s like...I might actually die._  
  
His heart was pounding in his chest, confused by why he was so suddenly effected by Ryosuke in this way.  
  
His eyes moved over his smooth skin, a towel wrapped around his trim waist, his head covered by a towel that he was using to currently dry his hair, his muscles moving in the light in a way that made them look like work of art, his entire body seeming like an exquisite statue carved with the finest details possible, and it was undeniable, he was just...perfect.  
  
_He’s hot as fuck._  
  
Yuri froze, his breath caught in his throat as the thought ran through his senses, and he was so flustered, so unhinged by such a thought he needed to get out of there, rushing forward to get into the shower, to get done with that so he could go home and figure out what the hell he was going on about.  
  
That was a good plan, but in his frustration, he had rushed straight forward, slamming directly into Ryosuke who was clearly not looking as he was still drying his hair.  
  
Ryosuke jerked the towel off his head, eyes wide, “Oh my gosh, Yuri! Are you okay? I’m so sorry!”  
  
Yuri just nodded, not trusting his voice, because honestly...  
  
_What the hell...how can he be this attractive!?_  
  
All he wanted, maybe besides Ryosuke at the moment was for Ryosuke to step to the side so he could get into that shower because he could feel the heat from Ryosuke’s body permeating his own skin. He could feel every inch of him that was touching his own body—and he couldn’t think, couldn’t process anything—feeling drunk and uncoordinated.  
  
Then, everything narrowed into sharp focus and all Yuri could see was the way Ryosuke’s pulse was beating in his throat, his eyes utterly fixated on it, and then within a mere moment, he smelled the most delicious, decadent, unbelievably sinful scent that he knew without question was emanating from Ryosuke.  
  
Yuri’s eyes rolled back into his head, his fists clenching at his side, unable to respond when Ryosuke's hands gripped his arms tighter as a low, breathy groan filled the air between them, his eyes snapping to Ryosuke's, watching his eyes seeming to gloss over as he inhaled sharply, Yuri's voice high, "What cologne are you wearing?“  
  
Yuri tilted his head forward, eyes fixated on the pulse beating underneath his delicate skin, and Ryosuke could see his nostrils flaring as he slowly inhaled, his arms shaking under his grip, "Ah...I mean...I literally just got out of the shower...just now...“  
  
Ryosuke was confused because he was fairly certain Yuri had actually just watched him step out of the shower, wrap a towel around his waist and then dry his hair with another towel, "You...were...I mean...you were _right there_...“  
  
Yuri's eyes lifted to stare at Ryosuke, but it seemed to him that he wasn't seeing him at all, his voice high and confused, "Soap? I guess..it's my soap--it's the one I bought from the bouti—"  
  
"No," Yuri snapped, the force of the word causing Ryosuke to stop in mid-sentence, helpless when Yuri pushed forward, causing Ryosuke's fingers to loosen on his arms as he fought the urge to step back, the strange aura around Yuri catching him off guard when Yuri's nose grazed the pulse point on his neck, "This isn't that...this is...it's...new...it's...so _strong_!“  
  
Yuri groaned again, the sound low and somehow making Ryosuke's cheeks flush, blinking rapidly, turning his head with the intent to push Yuri back and get to the bottom of his strange behavior.  
  
_Like maybe he's low on some vitamin or something--like people eat dirt and stuff like that when they have issues...maybe this is like that?_  
  
_Right?_  
  
Yet, when Ryosuke's head turned, his nose running across the edge of Yuri's hair, he froze, his heart fluttering wildly as he warred with the feeling of wanting...no...no...NEEDING to press his face into his hair. Like the day of the photo shoot but it was multiplied by a billion. He felt his knees shaking under him, his fingernails biting into his palms as he tried to stop his hands from grabbing Yuri and pushing his head to the side so he could smell him.  
  
_What the fuck._  
  
_I've lost my damn mind._  
  
_Walk the fuck away._  
  
His head turned, his nose tickled by the hair that was touching it, inhaling deeply, the words spoken without him being able to even consider them, "What cologne are _you_ wearing?“  
  
Yuri didn't answer, his breathing slow and steady as his hands clenched and unclenched by his side, both of them turning their heads when Hikaru spoke from the doorway where he'd walked in at some point, his towel over his shoulder, his cheeks red, "What the hell...you two...I can't...“  
  
Ryosuke's eyes narrowed without his permission, a feeling of pure adrenaline running up his spine, making his entire body antsy to move, his fingertips aching, scalp tingling, and for a moment he could picture himself moving across the room like an animal to shut his mouth, violently, but that would require him to step away from Yuri, something he didn't think he could actually do at this point.  
  
Hikaru shook his head as he walked toward the showers, "I mean...you two have always been...“  
  
He paused at the door to the shower, as if he were searching for a word that wouldn't insult them, unaware that the two boys were staring daggers into his back, his hand waving, "You two have always been weird...touching all the time, and...oddly...affectionate.“  
  
Hikaru turned to look at the boys, his eyes studying their position, rolling around the weird way they were talking about cologne while sniffing each other, shrugging, "...but this is escalating things...even for you two.“  
  
Ryosuke wasn't sure what response Hikaru was expecting, and honestly, he was mostly focused on his attempt to hold his breath so he could think properly because something in the way Yuri was standing too close made him want to scratch his skin off to find relief to the weird tingling feeling that kept washing over him each time he inhaled.  
  
He settled for grunting, watching as Hikaru shrugged again, turning to go into the shower.  
  
What Ryosuke meant to do was take a big step back, turn his head and inhale fresh air from the room...get control of this situation and whatever weird voodoo magic was taking place.  
  
Instead, the next thirty seconds were a blur as he turned his head, intent to look at Yuri who still had his head turned to watch Hikaru close the door to the shower, yet as his head turned, and Yuri's neck was bared to him, he was struck with the smell, stronger, more potent, the one he couldn't identify again, his hands jerking up to grab Yuri's arms as he was instantly pressing his face against his neck to smell him better, one of his hands moving up to grab his hair to hold his head in place.  
  
In the back of his mind, all Ryosuke could think was that Yuri was going to punch him, like literally beat the living hell out of him...anyyyyy second.  
  
Yet, instead, Yuri simply melted against Ryosuke, molding himself against his body as he stepped into him, his arms wrapping around Ryosuke's waist, holding him tightly as he tilted his head further away, giving Ryosuke better access to his neck.  
  
Ryosuke shivered when Yuri's fingers moved across the bare skin of his back, something raging within him he didn't have a word for, a slow, deep, low, rumbling growl coming from within, his eyes clenching shut tightly when Yuri whimpered against his chest as he began to tremble in his embrace.  
  
_What the hell is happening._  
  
He felt himself moving, intent on pushing Yuri back against the wall, a loose plan, blurry with sights and sounds, forming that involved his mouth, neck, body, and that SMELL--but before he could move, Daiki rushed into the room heading for the shower—breaking whatever utter insanity that had been transpiring against his iron clad will.  
  
Ryosuke blinked, jerking his head away from Yuri who was frozen, his head moving slowly back, his body following as he released Ryosuke, eyes wide as he stared at him.  
  
Daiki paused, glancing at the two boys only just now taking in the position they were in when he'd walked in, "Wait...what happened? Is everything okay?“  
  
"What?" Ryosuke tilted his head, confused.  
  
"You were hugging Yuri--did something happen?“  
  
"Hugging Yur--" Ryosuke felt his mouth go dry, "Yeah, no...I mean...“  
  
"My cat died.“  
  
Ryosuke's head jerked to look at Yuri who was staring blank-faced at Daiki... _lying._  
  
_Straight up lying._  
  
"Oh my gosh!" Daiki frowned, "I'm so sorry!“  
  
He started to step forward to hug Yuri but then stopped when Yuri's hand flew up, his hand moving to pull his shirt up to cover his face to block the smell, "It's fine...Ryosuke was just taking care of me.“  
  
Yuri's eyes moved to connect with Ryosuke's surprised ones, his expression soft, "Thank you."  
  
Ryosuke had too many questions running through his mind, too many thoughts, and he needed answers, but before he could formulate a single one, Yuri was gone, rushing from the room in a blur, and he was left standing there befuddled about what in the world was actually happening between them.  
  
"I didn't know he had a cat," Daiki whispered, staring at the door Yuri had escaped through, then turning to head to the shower beside Hikaru.  
  
"He _doesn't_ ," Ryosuke muttered, shrugging, "I don't know why he said that.“  
  
Daiki stopped, turning to look at Ryosuke in confusion, "Why would he lie about that?“  
  
"I dunno," Ryosuke turned to look at him, "I'm gonna find out though.“  
  
"I'm never going to his house again if he has a cat..." Hikaru called out from within the shower.  
  
"His cat died, it's not there anymore," Daiki answered sharply.  
  
"I just said he doesn't even have a ca--" Ryosuke sighed, shaking his head, "Whatever...I gotta go...“  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Ryosuke’s hands were shaking, the paper blurry under his gaze as a tear dripped down onto the paper, the words his grandmother had written there screaming at him from the page he had just pulled out of the box.  
  
___  
  
_The important part is this—you are a hybrid._  
___  
  
You are a hybrid.  
  
The words raced through his mind.  
  
There was a voice inside of him telling him to take the letters, shove the box back under the bed, and forget every single bit of all of this, except...there really wasn’t part within himself that would truthfully be able to say that he didn’t somehow already know this.  
  
In a pretty big way, it felt to him that every single thing he’d experienced up until now, in particular from the moment Yuri had entered his life—that had been leading him to this moment in time.  
  
_I am a hybrid._  
  
__  
_Now, you may not see anything different about yourself and that’s just fine, isn't it? Maybe you'll go your whole life without ever needing to know about all of this—but in the case that the trait is awakened within you—I want you to understand, I don't want you to be afraid._  
  
_I just thought, in reality, that you should be told the truth._  
  
_Don’t be too angry at your parents, I know they don’t want you to know this, but I saw it, I know your future, and I believe with all my heart that you should know so that you won’t be afraid of what is happening when your trait reactivates. You’ll need people who care about you and will support you as you navigate this—and while I disagree with your parent’s decision to keep this from you, I do understand why they made it._  
  
_At any rate, I am sure you have questions, and I invite you to send them to me, and I’ll do my very best to answer them._  
  
_Until then, I love you my dear grandson, and if you need me I am right here. Please take gentle care of you and most important—trust your heart._  
  
_I love you,_  
_Granny Yamada_

* * *


	4. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he left to take a shower, Yuri watched him until the bathroom door closed, staring at the black wood for so long his eyes grew dry and he was forced to blink them, and then...he cried.
> 
> Grabbing Ryosuke’s pillow and burying his face in it, he wept into the fabric that smelled so strongly of him it was like drowning in it, glad he had enough time through the night to perfect his thoughts, to hide his true feelings from the bond, thankful he’d left when he did so he could release all of his tears for what might have been. For the dreams he’d naively fostered, for the plans his fragile heart had made through the years...for all the moments that would never be.
> 
> Best friends.
> 
> It’s better than not having him at all, isn’t it?
> 
> He wasn’t sure how he could do it, how he could recondition his heart to not love Ryosuke but for the sake of their friendship, for the sake of having him in his life—he would have to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far: (refer to this section at the start of each chapter for recaps of the chapter before)
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Ryosuke:  
> -discovered a scent that seemed to be the perfected smell in the universe eminating from Yuri  
> -feels a violent need to protect Yuri, growing stronger  
> -sensed a change in Yuri's smell when he was being threatened  
> -his need to smell Yuri's scent is ampliphied by Yuri's need for his  
> -has something intense happen to himself when he is exposed to his neice for the first time  
> -Yuri's presence brings the crisis to a close  
> -coming as a surprise to no one--he is a hybrid lol
> 
> Yuri:  
> -instantly felt healed by being in the same room as Ryosuke  
> -felt himself take on qualities that were Ryosuke's (resulting in some of Ryosuke's scent shedding from him) when being threatened  
> -knows that he and Ryosuke will always be together  
> -discovers he's attracted to Ryosuke  
> -can smell Ryosuke's Alpha scent  
> -doesn't want to address this with the others  
> -resolved the physical situation happening with Ryosuke by touching him
> 
> ABO--  
> -a cycle forms with the emotional and/or physical responses between the AO  
> -for example, if one of them becomes fixated on the other's scent, then the other will feel compelled to smell the other, and the desire will grow from them feeding from one another's responses
> 
> Alphas:  
> -can be arrogant and self-centered
> 
> Omegas:  
> -the more important part of the ABO system  
> -biological system designed to help with repopulation  
> -physiology is unique  
> -have abilities the Alphas do not  
> -responsible for the development of love in the ABO system

* * *

Ryosuke was exhausted.  
  
The level of physical fatigue had reached an alarming point, and he knew that the others would be insanely angry at him for letting things go this far for a role, but he did have the care of a doctor and he was doing things the best he could that would ensure his own personal safety but also allow his full commitment to the role.  
  
That said, he was starving.  
  
He had literally been awakened by the loud rumbling of his stomach.  
  
Minutes ticked by as he contemplated what he should do. Whether he should cave in and get a nibble of something to eat—or if he should persevere through this, see this to the bitter end and force himself to sleep.  
  
He jumped, his entire body fused with fight or flight when someone knocked on the door, his eyes darting to the clock which shone at 3:00am.  
  
“Yes?” he had the covers pulled up to cover himself, his eyes peeking over the edge to the door like if a specter or demon had come to visit him and was kind enough to knock they would be deterred by his duvet.  
  
He sighed in relief when the door moved slowly and Yuri peeked his head into the room, he seemed timid and shy, his voice soft, “I’m sorry to come bothering you at this hour...but...”  
  
Ryosuke shifted, moving up onto his elbows to better see Yuri as he came into the room, closing the door before he moved over to Ryosuke, a tray in his hands, uncertainty in his words, “I know it...it's...probably...presumptuous of me to have done this...but I...I was worried and...”  
  
The first thing Ryosuke smelled was Yuri, his toes flexing as he felt the wave of pleasure rush across his system, and then he smelled something else—curry.  
  
He jerked up to look at the tray Yuri was holding, discovering a bowl of curry there with a side of rice and what smelled like it was a sort of herbal tea, his eyes wide as he looked from the tray of food to Yuri, “What is...is this for...me?”  
  
“Yeah,” Yuri nodded, gesturing with his head for him to make room for the tray, which Ryosuke did, watching as Yuri leaned over the edge of the bed to carefully place the tray on the bed where he’d given him space.  
  
Ryosuke had a moment of curiosity, about Yuri arriving with this food at this exact moment, about so many things, but he couldn’t really piece together any kind of truly coherent thought, not with the smell of Yuri and the food invading every sense.  
  
He picked up the bowl of rice, unceremoniously dumping it into the larger bowl that held the curry, picking the chopsticks and the bigger bowl to shovel a large bite of the stew into his mouth without preamble.  
  
Yuri sat slowly down on the bed, his eyes wide as he watched Ryosuke eating the food he’d made. He wasn’t sure if it was any good, after all, he wasn’t the cook in this friendship—rather he was the needy child—but somehow, in the last few weeks, he’d realized that wasn’t, in fact, absolutely could not be the only role he had to play. He’d asked Ryosuke’s mother to share her curry recipe and she was delighted to do so, actually having him come by her house so she could teach him to make it herself. He’d replicated everything he’d learned that day to make the stew he had given to Ryosuke.  
  
Ryosuke hummed in satisfaction as the bite of food caused him to become lost in nostalgia, knowing this flavor, this taste, and somehow it was made even sweeter because he knew that Yuri had made it.  
  
Whatever self-control Ryosuke had used up until this point to stay true to his diet was lost the moment the stew touched his tongue, quickly taking another bite, too excited to use proper manners, his mouth full as he chewed and attempted to talk at the same time, “Oh my gosh, Yuri...this...this is so delicious!”  
  
Yuri stared at him for a moment, processing the noises he made to attempt to make sense of the words he meant, finally understanding and smiling brightly, “You like it?”“  
  
Ryosuke shook his head violently, taking another bite, “LOVE it!”  
  
“I’m glad,” Yuri spoke softly, feeling unbelievably fulfilled to see Ryosuke finally eating something, “I worry about you.”  
  
Ryosuke had taken enough bites to not be quite so ravenous, slowing down as he looked over at Yuri, realizing it was 3am and he was awake feeding him curry. He cleared his throat, setting the bowl and chopsticks down on the tray, “I don’t mean to make you worry...but...I’m glad you care enough to be here.”  
  
“Of course,” Yuri responded, shrugging, as if there was no where else he was meant to be at this moment, and to him? Maybe there wasn’t?  
  
“Are we...ummm,” Yuri tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to say, nervous, his hands twisting in his lap, “It’s just that you and I are...will we ever...just talk about this?”  
  
Ryosuke didn’t even have to contemplate what ‘this’ was. He knew, in his heart, he’d felt this coming for a while now—too many moments of words and questions sitting on the tip of their tongues for them to continue to ignore it indefinitely. He knew there was going to be a day when they had to discuss the strange things going on and what they meant, what they were going to do and how they’d handle them...maybe he didn’t expect it today, but it didn’t matter when or where or why—it would be a challenge.  
  
“I’m a hybrid...and I think you are too,” Ryosuke blurted out without even considering how shocking the words would be...but if they were indeed, shocking, it would be impossible to tell because Yuri just held his gaze, a small smile tugging at his lips.  
  
“Ya think so, do you?” Yuri grinned then, shrugging, “Took you long enough to figure it out.”  
  
Ryosuke scoffed, not believing that somehow Yuri already knew the truth, “Surely, you aren’t trying to say you knew?”  
  
“I didn’t know what it was called specifically, like hybrid or whatever, not at first,” Yuri admitted, his hands clasped together in his lap, “But...I knew from long ago that I was not a normal human and I had started to research all the way back then to figure out who I was and what this was all about.”  
  
“Huh,” Ryosuke was surprised, not remotely expecting for Yuri to have such an explanation nor understanding for what they were experiencing.  
  
“So...you’re an Alpha, I’m Omega...what does this...actually mean for us?” Yuri sneaked a peek over at Ryosuke who had slid the tray of food across the bed, his head tilting as he looked at Yuri.  
  
“I dunno,” Ryosuke meant it, he really, genuinely had no idea what it meant, “I just...there’s a lot of information out there that seems wrong, or is clearly fabricated—it’s hard to say what’s true and not though, ever since the government locked everything down...it’s...really hard to find reputable sources for information...I mostly learned from these letters my grandmother left me.”  
  
“You what?” Yuri was surprised by this, looking around the room for wherever this treasure was located.  
  
Ryosuke laughed, shuffling to the edge of the bed, carefully retrieving the tray to set it on his dresser, and then ducked under his bed to pull the box and binder out. He gestured for Yuri to look, “It’s okay, you can read them?”  
  
Yuri watched as he took the lid off the box of letters, reaching over to run his fingertips across them in reverence, “They’re letters from your grandmother?”  
  
“Yes,” Ryosuke nodded, opening the binder and turning it so Yuri could see the first letter, his eyes widening when he saw how many letters there really were, “She was a hybrid too.”  
  
“Whoa!” Yuri was shocked, his eyes wide as he considered this information, “But...I thought they had only started to appear again in the last few decades?”  
  
“Just stupid stuff the government wanted to say, they thought that it wasn’t going to continue to expand and mostly just wanted to shut everyone up about it,” Ryosuke shrugged, “There are quite a few like her but most of them ended up in psych wards and institutions because the government convinced their families that they were just crazy and there was nothing unique about them biologically.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Yuri reached over to touch Ryosuke’s hand, and he felt the sincerity of his feelings.  
  
“Thank you,” Ryosuke smiled, squeezing his fingers in return, “You really can read them if you want, I haven’t finished sorting them, it’s just overwhelming so it’s taken me far longer than it should have.”  
  
“You’re sure? It’s okay for me to read them?”  
  
“I’m positive, there’s nothing I want to keep from you. Not now, not ever.”  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Ryosuke stretched, a tiny squeak sounding as he felt his muscles extending and then he drew his arms and legs back up quickly, startled awake when he’d felt someone else in the bed with him. His memory flashed back to the night before, to Yuri and the stew and the letters.  
  
He glanced over to discover Yuri curled up into a small ball on the top covers of his bed, the box of letters now completely empty and the binder filled to the brim with all the letters in protective sleeves.  
  
Ryosuke’s eyes were wide as he gingerly slid the binder over to look at it, careful to not disturb Yuri, fascinated as he flipped through all the letters he had not read yet.  
  
He jumped when Yuri spoke softly from beside him, “Did you know she had an Alpha?”  
  
“Who?” Ryosuke was confused by the question.  
  
“Your grandmother,” Yuri gestured to the letters, “She explains it in there.”  
  
“I...I...no, I didn’t know,” Ryosuke admitted, suddenly wondering what other types of mysteries were held in the letters he hadn’t gotten to.  
  
“She did, she married him, it’s why your parents were so mad at her...”  
  
“I thought that was because of the whole hybrid thing?” Ryosuke was confused, because that’s all they ever said.  
  
“Yeah,” Yuri yawned, stretching like a tiny kitten and all Ryosuke wanted to do was to hug him, his voice still soft with sleep, “That was just an excuse they used, it wasn’t that, it was about the Alpha, they didn’t approve.”  
  
“Huh,” Ryosuke was surprised, and wondered if after all these years if his parents would talk to him about it and explain why they felt the way they did, “I had no idea.”  
  
“Everything in there is very...” Yuri took his time choosing the right word, “Enlightening.”  
  
“Enlightening, huh?”  
  
“Yeah,” Yuri nodded, “Your grandmother was a brilliant woman—she had a doctorate degree in a special branch of science that studied human growth and forms including hybrids—she was on the cutting edge of research, even though she wasn’t respected among her peers thanks to the government’s influences.”  
  
Ryosuke felt a little guilty that Yuri had found all of this out about his grandmother instead of him, but he dismissed it when Yuri shook his head, clearly knowing what he was thinking, “Don’t do that, your grandmother wouldn’t care about who found out, only that it was found.”  
  
“I guess,” Ryosuke flipped through the pages, “What else was there?”  
  
“Well, the obvious—you’re an Alpha and I am an Omega. Alphas can have more than one partner...but really, she says they don’t normally, because it’s sort of rare, since most of them end up in a committed relationship.”  
  
That immediately caused Ryosuke to frown, not able to imagine a world where he would want a partner that wasn’t Yuri and the very thought of Yuri with anyone else made his blood boil.  
  
“Alphas actually change the chemical composition of their Omega—it’s actually pretty crazy.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Ryosuke was curious, finding the scent thing a little insane to be honest.  
  
“Well, like...Betas smell good, like not great but not bad either, sort of neutral. But Omegas who aren’t marked will smell good too—like it’s their advertisement of sorts to all the Alphas that they’re available or whatever.”  
  
“Wait...” Ryosuke’s head was spinning, “I mean, so people can just end up with anyone? It’s just sort of random?”  
  
“I don’t think it’s quite that simple, I mean I think there’s some physiology stuff, pheromones and things like that which all play a role on a biological level.”  
  
Yuri shrugged, “But I suppose everyone has a ‘type’...it would be more like if that ‘type’ was one the trait recognized I suppose.”  
  
“Huh...” Ryosuke wondered a bit about that, curious if he had never met Yuri would he be this convinced he’s the one for him?  
  
“When an Alpha marks an Omega as their mate—it’s like their scents become combined—it changes completely on a cellular level—based on several things like composition of hormones, pheromones, and even how ‘highly ranked’ the Alpha is—it’s sort of weird that those kinds of things can effect it—but the Omega who has been marked smells bad—like become repulsive to other Alphas to deter them from messing with the Omega when they are marked to someone else.”  
  
“What is marking?”  
  
“Oh,” Yuri blushed furiously, causing Ryosuke sit straight up, paying close attention to him.  
  
“Well,” Yuri drew the word out, clearly hoping Ryosuke would think of something far more important he wanted to know, something that wasn’t nearly this embarrassing, but when he didn’t throw out a new question he cleared his throat, “Umm...Your Granny mentioned it so I sort of looked it up online—to find out what it was and why...but apparently hybrids don’t really have a marriage ceremony like humans do...well, I mean I guess they do it normal now, but as far as their own practices—like cultural but really physical and biological as well—it is initiated by...biting each other’s neck.”  
  
“What?” Ryosuke tried to wrap his mind around this concept—because frankly, hurting each other doesn’t seem very much like marriage making material.  
  
“It...It's not really the neck...it's this gland, like right here," Yuri's hand lifted, pointing to the juncture where his neck met his shoulders, "That's where they...umm...bite each other, and ah...” Yuri’s face turned an even deeper shade of red, “It doesn’t hurt, it apparently feels good.”  
  
“Wha—" Ryosuke couldn’t piece this information into a proper place, his mind whirling when Yuri blurted out words so quickly they combined together into a single long word, "...becausetheybiteeachotherwhilethey’rehavingsexsoitdoesn’thurtitfeelsgood."  
  
Ryosuke’s head tilted to the side as he attempted to decipher what Yuri had actually just said and when he finally did, he understood the way he was blushing, his own cheeks heating up as he thought about that, his eyes shifting to Yuri’s neck, the collar of his t-shirt loose, exposing his collar bone on one side and all Ryosuke could think was literally one word.  
  
 _Yes._

 _I need._  
  
He shook his head, trying to get a hold of himself, worried Yuri was going to pick up on all of his feelings through the aura, but instead, Yuri sat up, rubbing his eyes and all Ryosuke could think was how absolutely adorable he was, yawning loudly before he continued talking, “There’s so much more to it all...more than what I’ve ever read before according to these letters—your Granny...she had visions...it was part of her gift—and she saw a special kind of hybrid evolving—she was convinced that you were the first of the new race of hybrids for some reason.”  
  
“Me?!” Ryosuke couldn’t imagine why she thought such a thing, confused by this information, “Why did she think that?”  
  
“She saw it in her visions, she doesn’t really expand on it, it was like she was trying to be sure to not reveal too much to stop you from letting it become too important in your life—she had a lot of respect for the trait—something pretty rare when it comes to those who speak openly about it.”  
  
“The only thing she said about the thing she called ‘super-hybrid’ was that they were created to be powerful, to be leaders of the new era of hybrids.”  
  
Ryosuke tried to understand, “You mean they have special powers?”  
  
“Well, I don’t know,” Yuri stretched lightly, “I mean, like I said, she was rather vague on things—but...the one thing she did say is that they weren’t like the other hybrids because they were capable of this thing called ‘soul-bond’ which set them apart from the other clan members. It made the two of the strong, powerful because they had a special bond that allowed them to access one another’s powers, thoughts, energy, and will when they needed it.”  
  
“Huh...” Ryosuke tried to keep his expression impassive, trying to stop the link from betraying his reaction to that information because he’d seen a bit about that on the internet and he knew, without a doubt, that it was the kind of Alpha he was. He could sense it on a molecular level, and unless he was stupidly mistaken, he could not help but believe that Yuri was his soul-bond Omega. He knew, full well knew, that Yuri was definitely not ready for level of insanity so he was determined to keep him from thinking it.  
  
“Did anything you read help you with what...with us?”  
  
“I think it’s okay to just keep being me and you, isn’t it?”  
  
Ryosuke studied him, checking the air around them for any sign that Yuri was somehow misleading him or covering up something but sensed nothing untoward, “We don’t have to...change anything?”  
  
“No,” Yuri shrugged, “I guess...there are still choices to be made, and we don’t have to make a choice we don’t want to. So, we can just stay best friends and everything will be fine.”  
  
Ryosuke stared at Yuri’s hand, as it absently touched the smooth surface of the page he was on, then looked up at him, his eyes looked normal, calm and clear, and he seemed sure of what he was saying, so he swallowed down the words he wanted to say, the ways he wanted to protest, choosing to honor Yuri’s desires, working hard to ensure the connection between them didn’t betray him, to exude enthusiasm and happiness over this decision, “Okay then, best friends is great!”  
  
When he left to take a shower, Yuri watched him until the bathroom door closed, staring at the black wood for so long his eyes grew dry and he was forced to blink them, and then...he cried.  
  
Grabbing Ryosuke’s pillow and burying his face in it, he wept into the fabric that smelled so strongly of him it was like drowning in it, glad he had enough time through the night to perfect his thoughts, to hide his true feelings from the bond, thankful he’d left when he did so he could release all of his tears for what might have been. For the dreams he’d naively fostered, for the plans his fragile heart had made through the years...for all the moments that would never be.  
  
 _Best friends._  
  
 _It’s better than not having him at all, isn’t it?_  
  
He wasn’t sure how he could do it, how he could recondition his heart to not love Ryosuke but for the sake of their friendship, for the sake of having him in his life—he would have to try.

He knew the truth, after contemplating everything about the bond, about their connection about what was and what could potentially be--after allowing himself the freedom to imagine and dream--and to consider the chances of overcoming his own irrationally fearful feelings about the Omega trait--he realized that there was an entire facet he had not considered.

He could only imagine that Ryosuke had not as well.

Ryosuke would lose everything.

He would lose everything in his world he had worked so hard for.

He would lose his career, his fans, his life.

Yuri knew without even having to think about it--Ryosuke would give it all up for him, he could feel it in the bond so many times when Ryosuke wasn't actively trying to pretend to be unaffected, Yuri knew it, but he also knew that he could never let him do that--he could never let him give up everything he wanted, all the things he'd striven for. 

Impossible.

 _I love him too much to hurt him that way._  
  
Ryosuke slid down the door, his hands scrubbing at his eyes as the tears fell, moving into his hair to pull hard on it in frustration. He had no idea how to do this, how to be a ‘friend’ to Yuri when all he wanted was to just tell him how deeply and truly he loved him.  
  
But he needed Yuri to be happy, and if he couldn’t see Ryosuke that way, then he knew it was his only choice to be willing to settle for friendship—because having him in any way is better than not having him at all. This wasn't a time in his life to be selfish, to think only of what he wanted, it was a time to take Yuri's feelings into consideration and do what was best for him--not force an outcome that would only make himself happy and not Yuri.

_I love him too much to hurt him that way._

* * *

Ryosuke was trying to keep his mind in the dream, loving the way the purple water tipped over the edge of the waterfall, the splashes making Yuri blink his eyes at the cool mist, laughing softly as he pulled him closer--but, it was useless, his brain telling him there was something more important happening, and as he drifted in the space between dream and reality he tried to make sense of what he was hearing.  
  
“Ryosuke!”  
  
His eyes opened slowly, his hand reaching out before he was fully aware of what was happening, reaching for Yuri, his body in motion without comprehension— _help him_.  
  
Of course, he wasn’t there, his hand landing on the emptiness on the other side of his bed...scrubbing at his eyes trying to make sense of what he’d heard, why his heart was pounding like a drum in his ears.  
  
He heard it then, the sound reaching him from the room next door, a plea, a cry, his name, and he was in motion, running out of his room, the door to Yuri’s room slamming into the wall so hard he was sure it had punched a hole but he didn’t care.  
  
He rushed to the bed, his vision limited in the dark, his hands frantic hitting a pillow, shoving it away in frustration as he tried to find Yuri in desperation, a disturbing energy emanating from where he finally discovered Yuri curled up in the middle of the bed.  
  
His body was shaking, eyes moving to where Ryosuke was half on, half off the bed, a soft whimper reaching between them, his expression contorted in obvious pain as his body curled more deeply in on itself, his arms clenching around his stomach.  
  
Ryosuke scrambled over to him, touching his forehead, checking for a fever, but his skin didn’t feel hot at all—rather, it felt cool to the touch, trying to keep his panic at bay, he swallowed hard, “Yuri?”  
  
Yuri’s eyes seemed to be fighting to stay open, his brows drawing down, mouth opening and closing before he shook his head, the words hoarse on his dry lips, “It—It hurts.”  
  
Ryosuke was in motion, lunging across the bed to grab Yuri’s cell phone, unlocking the screen to call the emergency services but Yuri’s hand shot out, grabbing his wrist to stop him. Ryosuke twisted to look at him in confusion, Yuri’s eyes pleading.  
  
“Let me call someone for help,” Ryosuke tried to pull his hand away, but Yuri wouldn’t let him go, his head shaking.  
  
“Why not?” Ryosuke couldn’t understand and was seconds away from using more force than he’d like to in order to get Yuri to let him go.  
  
“It—it won’t...” Yuri bit his lip as another wave of whatever was happening hit him, causing him to gasp, and then he forced the words past his lips, “Th-they can’t help me with this.”  
  
Yuri’s hand dropped, using all of his energy, he groaned, his eyes clenching closed tightly, then he pushed at his cellphone still in Ryosuke’s hand, the word pained, “Browser.”  
  
Ryosuke fumbled with Yuri’s phone, watching in horror as his body melted into a trembling mass as he wrapped his arms around his abdomen, his fingers clumsy in his desperation to get the phone open, to get whatever answer might be held here, but once he opened the screen he was still confused, because there were at least twenty tabs open in Yuri’s browser, but none of them made any sense.  
  
 **stabbing exploding pain in lower abdomen**  
  
Looking at the results—most everything was referencing issues that women had with their periods and such...so Ryosuke clicked to the next tab.  
  
 **stabbing exploding pain in lower abdomen in a guy**  
  
This one had different answers, mostly involving the bladder and urinary tract infections.  
  
 **can your bladder explode**  
  
Long story short...yes.  
  
 **If your bladder explodes will you die?**  
  
Shorter still. Yes.  
  
 **What is the feeling of your bladder exploding a symptom of?**  
  
Ryosuke slid the screen down as he looked for anything that could give him a clue as to what was happening, and then he saw it.  
  
Somehow, using this single question an obscure Alpha/Omega site had shown up in the search results, and while he knew Yuri didn’t click on that link, he also knew it was enough to make him wonder.  
  
So, he was not surprised with what he discovered as the search terms for the next tab  
  
 **stabbing explosive pain in the abdomen that feels like you’re dying +omega**  
  
There were fifty-five results returned.  
  
Ryosuke’s mouth went dry, his heart clenching in his chest, his eyes flashing over to Yuri and then back to the screen as he tapped on the final tab which contained an article written by some doctor who expounded on a theory about what would happen to modern humans if their Omega trait was activated.  
  
As Ryosuke’s eyes skimmed the article he became more and more alarmed—because if even part of this were true...  
  
His mind whirled when the words popped up off the page to him.

> Theoretically, the subject would transition through a series of changes, in all probability rapidly, which would allow the biological and physical aspects of the trait to function properly. It is believed in this way, that it would be akin to the process of evolution within a developing fetus—the tissue necessary to create the organs are already present, lying dormant until they are needed. At the time when the trait is activated it is considered that the most likely response from the Omega’s physical form would be to also initiate the changes necessary to become a fully functional Omega.
> 
> There are changes necessary for a female Omega, however, by comparison they are minor, and the few biological changes would happen fairly quickly which would undoubtedly result in pain.
> 
> For male Omega, the process would be more involved, and likely last quite a bit longer, with high levels of pain given the overarching changes necessary involving present organs and those which would be evolving. The body would go into a state of transformation in which the dormant tissue would expand and multiply to form the Omega’s functional reproductive system. At this same time, the Omega glands throughout the body which would have been present at birth but not fully developed will also emerge and begin to mature.

  
  
Ryosuke searched the text desperately for information on how to help, what to do, how to fix it—but there was nothing. Throwing the phone to the side, he turned to Yuri who was staring at him, his eyes soft but clear with pain, his lips pinched into a thin line as his body jerked as a new wave of pain hit him.  
  
“What can I do?” Ryosuke begged, “Please, what do I do? How can I help?”  
  
Yuri shook his head, his eyes clenching shut as he groaned, his arm flinging out, desperately needing Ryosuke near him. Ryosuke laid down, moving over to hold Yuri in his arms, careful to not hurt him, pressing a tender kiss against his forehead, feeling completely helpless, not a feeling he was particularly used to feeling—being a man of action and problem solving.  
  
“Hold me,” Yuri murmured, “Please.” He whimpered, pressing his face against Ryosuke’s chest as he pulled him further into his arms.  
  
Ryosuke held Yuri as close as he dared, worried still he might hurt him, and he could feel it, the way every single muscle in his body was tensed from the pain, it was like they were all contracted at once, and there was a low level vibration that was shaking him ever so slightly, his fingers clenched onto Ryosuke’s shirt as if he were his only tether to the world around him.  
  
Ryosuke tried to focus himself on sending comfort to Yuri through their connection—because if they could use it for so many other things, why couldn’t they use it for this? Why shouldn’t he at least try—so he pressed his lips against Yuri’s forehead beaded with sweat, his entire being focused on Yuri’s breath against his chest.  
  
In his mind’s eye he could imagine the soft waves of an ocean crashing at their feet, the smell of the salt in the air that would brush cool against their sun-heated skin. The echo of wings flapping in the sky above, and the feeling of warm sand between their toes. Their eyes sparkling as much, if not more, than the water cresting beyond the breaks—holding each other close so that nothing beyond that single moment could touch them, and he felt it when Yuri’s shoulder relaxed, so he kept his mind in that dream, holding them both there, hyper focused on every minute detail.  
  
This worked for a while, even to the point where Ryosuke was fairly certain Yuri was sleeping through some parts of the transition—but then he bolted, his entire form smacking into Ryosuke’s as if he were trying to get away from whatever was trying to hurt him.  
  
"Yuri!?"  
  
Yuri’s eyes were wild with fear, his breath coming out in rapid bursts, his expression twisted in pain, his fingernails digging into Ryosuke’s arms, “I—I can’t...it’s...”  
  
Before he could say anything else his body flew back against the mattress, his form contorted and twisted and Ryosuke felt himself suddenly caught up in the connection between them and he felt it, he could feel the pain sneaking around the edges of his own feelings, his hands clenching into fists as he knew whatever he was feeling was just the part that made it past the natural barriers into their connection.  
  
But it was enough, he knew...he could tell, and then Yuri was crying, his voice broken as he plead for help, for it to end, and Ryosuke grabbed him up into his arms, intent on taking him to the emergency room, regardless of whether they had any idea what this was, or how to help him, surely they could do something for him, anything for him, because he couldn’t do this—couldn’t watch this—had to do something.  
  
“I’m gonna get you help,” Ryosuke whispered, trying to drag himself and Yuri both to the edge of the bed, but Yuri had latched onto him, his arms and legs wrapped around him as he sobbed into his shirt, his voice frantic as he spoke words that didn’t make sense, didn’t even sound like real words at all, and then when Ryosuke’s feet hit the floor, and he tried to lift Yuri, he realized, the room was silent.  
  
Apart from the sound of Yuri’s breathing against his chest, there were no other sounds, which should be comforting but he found it unnerving, borderline terrifying after so many hours of chaotic pandemonium.  
  
“Yuri?” He tried to pull back, tried to drop Yuri onto the mattress so he could see him, so he could make sure he was okay, but Yuri wasn’t having it, his arms clung to him tighter, shaking his head against his chest, his voice muffled in his shirt, now wet from his tears, as he spoke the word, “No.”  
  
Ryosuke sighed, doing his best to shift against him to get them onto the bed fully, pulling him to the side until he could at least tilt his head down to see Yuri’s face, which seemed smooth and serene. There was nothing there that he could see that indicated he was suffering anymore, and instead, he was fairly certain he had fallen asleep.  
  
“Yuri?” As much as Ryosuke was loath to wake him up, he could not possibly live without knowing he really was okay—because what if he’d just passed out from the pain? That was a thing—he knew it was...there were too many variables he didn’t have answers for, so even though he didn’t want to, he shook Yuri, forcing him to wake up.  
  
Yuri’s eyes blinked open slowly, lifting up to look at Ryosuke, his death grip on him loosening as he drew his arms forward, to touch Ryosuke’s cheek, his voice cracking, rough and dry, “The beach...was...nice.”  
  
Ryosuke felt relief flood through him, laughing softly as he pulled Yuri against him, holding him as close as he dared given the fact he wasn’t sure how he was feeling physically at all, “Are you...” he drew back, needing to see him to be sure, “Are you okay?”  
  
Yuri seemed to contemplate this, doing an inventory of himself, pulling away a bit to stretch his legs out, to roll onto his back, though his hand stayed connected to Ryosuke, refusing to let go of him, he twisted his back, shoulders, stretching and pulling his body to test it, to see if there was anything happening.  
  
Ryosuke’s hand moved of its own accord, slowly drifting across Yuri’s form until it settled on his abdomen, soft and tender there on his belly as it rose and fell with his breathing. Yuri’s hands moved to touch his hand there, to lay over top of it, somehow both asking to be sheltered, and providing shelter at the same time. There was something so soft, so sacred, so intimate about this moment it took his breath away—his eyes fluttering closed for a moment as he savored the connection between them, impressed it upon his memory so he would never forget it. His lips curling up into a smile as he felt the comfort and the peace and the absolute joy this single moment offered him, opening his eyes to study the sight of their hands together on his form, enamored with how treasured he felt.  
  
Then he smiled, turning his head, breaking his eyes away from their hands to look at Ryosuke, “Nothing...it’s...the pain is gone now.”  
  
“Thank God,” the words burst out of Ryosuke’s mouth, leaning his head down to rest on Yuri’s shoulder as he took what felt like the first breath since he’d awakened at the start of this.  
  
Yuri’s fingers moved up his back, threading through his hair, holding him close as he let him feel his feelings, let him sort through them—patiently waiting, humming softly a tune he didn’t recognize as he gently maneuvered them to face one another.  
  
Ryosuke’s eyes blinked open, tears wet on the edges and Yuri reached out to touch his cheek, “It’s okay, everything is okay now.”  
  
“I was...”  
  
“Perfect,” Yuri announced factually, “Thank you.”  
  
Ryosuke wanted to correct him because in all the world of all the things he could have done, ways he could have helped, done anything at all, how could he say such things when all he felt was lost and helpless and useless.  
  
Yuri made a sound with his tongue, an admonishment, his lips pursing as his expression morphed in his displeasure, “You’re a fool.”  
  
Ryosuke was starting to hate this connection and the insights it gave Yuri without his permission, opening his mouth to speak but cut off when Yuri’s finger pressed against his lips silencing him.  
  
“You never see yourself clearly,” Yuri stated firmly, “I’m going to see to it you eventually do.”  
  
Ryosuke couldn’t be sure about that but, the truth was, he knew if anyone was able to do it, it would be Yuri, and surely, as with most aspects of their life together, he was always up for a challenge when it came to Ryosuke.  
  
“Are you really okay?”  
  
“Yeah,” Yuri answered, “I...I seriously thought I was dying, I like realized I didn’t have a will or anything.”  
  
“A will?”  
  
“Yeah, I mean if something happened to me, I would want to make sure you got everything I had...”  
  
“All the things I bought you, you mean?”  
  
They laughed, and Yuri grinned, “Listen, you know as well as I do that there’s nothing at all you love more.”  
  
“That’s true,” Ryosuke couldn’t remotely deny it, “Maybe except for you.”  
  
In another time, in another moment, this soft confession in the midst of a moment of laughter would have caused them both to stop and to overthink and make a big deal about it, especially in light of their current agreement, the decision they'd made to remain friends. But...in this moment it just felt so natural, so pure, and there was no part of either of them that wanted to change a single aspect of it, Yuri just reached forward to bring his head down to touch his own, smiling, “Me too.”

* * *

Days had turned into weeks, which turned into months, and a delicately balanced dance had formed between the two of them--one which kept the other always at the furthest reach, still engaged in the motion, still involved in the steps, but never reaching the inner circle of the closed position--never quite facing one another.

It had become a normal part of their lives--to mask the growing heartache and pain...to cover up their sadness with business, to joke when they wanted to cry, and to walk a thin line between taking care of one another in the way they simply could not bear to not do and keep enough distance between the two of them so they would not go insane.  
  
Ryosuke had arrived to the house before anyone else had come home, taken a shower, and then sat down in the fluffy love seat in the living room. He meant to pull out his script to work on the next scene he had to shoot the next day, he also meant to grab a snack, and maybe put some music on—but instead, he found that forty minutes had passed and he hadn’t moved.  
  
His eyes were fixated on a picture on the entertainment center. It was a group picture of Jump from way back at their debut—the JUMP dynamics present, all of them being their typical silly selves, and he wondered at how much affection he had for them, how much he cared about them—how much they were all as brothers to him.  
  
At that time here were ten members in the group picture but now...of course, there were only nine left. He knew that the agency did what they were supposed to do, really, what they had to do back then, because they were a group with young members and younger fans—and it wouldn’t do for them to be promoting bad behavior, let alone illegal ones.  
  
He might understand it, but it didn’t make it any easier to cope with it—he had really struggled with it, they all had.  
  
 _So much has changed since then...so much is still changing, even now._  
  
He’d turned 20.  
  
He was an adult now.  
  
But...he didn’t really feel like an adult. Instead, he still felt like everyone else had power in his life, control over him, over his choices.  
  
Illusions, paper houses, everywhere around him...and to those looking in from the outside, he was sure it seemed like a different story they were reading, something special and beautiful and lovely, but really, at least right now—it wasn’t.  
  
 _My God...you’re so jaded in your old age Yamada._  
  
He laughed softly at himself, it was the least he could do, because honestly, he needed to express some emotion and he figured laughing was preferred to crying in any case.  
  
They’d relocated, he and Yuri—they’d secured an apartment in an upscale community—just the two of them, and it had been really great.  
  
Most of the time, but then, there were times when there was so much silence it was deafening. The wrong kind of silence can be painful, and he felt so lonely sometimes, in the darkness in a house filled with the one person he didn’t dare to let inside his boundaries, he just couldn’t—Yuri could never know the truth.

Growing up had become so...hard.  
  
He knew it was stupid...you grow up, you move out, you go have a big life and be independent and become a fully functional adult, you fall in love, you get married, you live a full life.  
  
Simple.  
  
Easy.  
  
 _Complicated._  
  
It was not what it was for others, of course, how could it be? There were no self-help books for becoming an Alpha. There were no websites or hotlines for 'those with reactivated Alpha traits in crisis'...no there were no guidebooks, helpful forums, or social groups there for him. The few places on the internet where you could find anyone talking about this stuff--well, suffice to say that it was unsavory at best, and horrifying at worst and he only tiptoed into that cesspool when absolutely necessary.

All of this left him feeling lost, like a tether to the earth had been severed and he was floating aimlessly in the wind, unable to direct the current, weak to where it would take him.  
  
He wanted to be different.  
  
He could see a future he wanted to live for, honestly, when he closed his eyes? He could see a future, in bright vibrant colors, a path illuminated with joy, and by his side?

Yuri--he was always there, always next to him, always the one.

Ryosuke wanted to make it happen, he could feel it, taste it, and wanted it with everything inside himself.  
  
But he saw it for what it really was.  
  
An impossible dream...just like writing his own diary—filled with pages that looked the same over and over again, blank and without stories to fill them—because to see his dreams come true, it would mean hurting the person he loved—and he would never do that—so in this way—he was resigned to being alone.  
  
There were many reasons for this, of course, not the least of which was his desire to honor Yuri's feelings about their connection. This couldn't be something that could be undone? It wouldn't be right to pressure him into changing his mind, and that wouldn't be how Ryosuke would want it anyway.

In truth, even if Yuri wasn't in the mindset that they should remain friends--there would be other things they'd have to consider--serious issues with serious consequences starting with how their fandom might react. They had responsibilities, of course they did, and who could even begin to guess how violently they would react to this whole Alpha Omega thing? It was highly probable they wouldn't, couldn't understand it--writing them off to pretend characters in a manga instead of living breathing humans with genuine feelings and hopes and dreams.

Still, even if they could have full approval from their fandom, even if Yuri were crazy in love with him and returned his feelings the truth was they’d have an uphill battle with the agency.

They would never allow such a thing.  
  
Honestly, it was one of the things he despised the most about the agency...he’d heard rumors when he was younger, so he wasn’t surprised when they began to counsel him on a regular basis, advising him against “meaningful friendships”. He really wanted to tell them to go fuck themselves and do whatever he wanted. He wanted to go pay a call girl to walk on the streets with him, to make the worst scandal ever to bring a black mark onto them, but he wouldn’t.  
  
He wouldn’t because he knew damn well that it wouldn't really happen that way.  
  
He would never be let go.

Everyone else? Sure, they were expendable...but him?

Never.  
  
He saw the threats for what they were, empty, idle threats that held no real power—because he was money for them—he knew when they looked at him, they saw dollar signs and not a human being.  
  
 _No, I could do pretty much anything, probably produce my own amateur porn film and they’d applaud me, pay people off, and I’d get five more contracts._  
  
Yet, back then, when they were still a fledgling group, they’d lost a member--not just 'a member' but a friend, and a talented asset to Jump.  
  
The agency put out some stupid public statement, but they’d all been told the truth right up front.  
  
He would not be back.  
  
He was not returning.  
  
Move on and keep your chins up—the public needs to see you’re okay and that this isn’t going to effect your group, that you’re still going to be strong and move forward.  
  
He’d never been more angry in his whole life—not ever—because they told them their feelings didn’t matter, that they would not have a reaction to this, that they weren’t allowed to feel what they felt, to just do what they were supposed to.  
  
It infuriated him then, and it infuriated him now.

They were STILL telling him what he could and could not feel, think, do or say.  
  
Ryosuke’s fist flew out, hitting the coffee table, but he couldn’t make himself care about the pain that radiated up his arm into his shoulder, because it paled in comparison to the pain that was within his heart.  
  
 _If I had been a better leader, if I had paid better attention that wouldn’t have happened._  
  
He never said it out loud, never admitted that he felt completely responsible for what happened with Morimoto. That he believed he could have helped him. He should have seen it.  
  
 _I should have realized, they all look to me to lead them and I failed everyone._  
  
 _If I had only noticed._  
  
 _If I had just asked him...I know if I had just reached out—maybe he would have told me, confided in me, I could have helped guide him to make good choices._  
  
His fist flew out again.  
  
 _Fuck that, I wouldn’t advise him of anything—I‘d tell him to get his shit together, this is a lifestyle he chose and we don’t have the luxury of making mistakes that can come and haunt us in the future. I would have told him to do the right thing, stop being a complete dumb ass and to do his job properly._  
  
Ryosuke knew it was ridiculous to use the wisdom he’d gained in the years since then to imagine how he might have properly reacted then but he couldn’t help it.  
  
He felt a tear hot on his cheek, his shaking hand rising to touch it, confused, when he saw the red streak run down his arm.  
  
“Huh...” he twisted his hand, looking at the gash on his knuckle, but it just infuriated him. It wasn’t enough, it was never going to be enough.  
  
"Who’s next!?"  
  
His hand flew out, his body propelled forward off the chair, as he slammed it into the center of the coffee table, his scream echoing off of the walls, “WHO IS NEXT!?”  
  
Again, the sound of his fist hitting the table resonated deeply within his soul—the pain somehow giving him one more breath, one more note to the song his heart seemed to be intent on writing.  
  
His eyes moved to the picture, stumbling to the entertainment center, his hands shaking as he grabbed it off the surface, his eyes blurry...  
  
 _When did I start crying?_  
  
He tried to focus, tried to see what was there in that picture.  
  
To make sense of the blurry faces, smiling at him, seeming so happy—happy together.  
  
But...he’d let them all down, he’d let everyone down.  
  
All those years ago, and still over and over again today.  
  
He had a job and he’d failed.  
  
He still fails.  
  
How long until he failed like this again?  
  
Who would they lose then?  
  
His heart clenched as his vision drifted across the faces of his members, of the boys he loves as brothers, landing on Yuri’s face.

The boy he loves.  
  
“No.”  
  
The word was a whisper, a soft breath in the deepest part of his soul, and he shook his head, frantically searching for a place within himself that could stop the spiral, stop the way he was moving into himself at a pace that matched the rhythm of his heart.  
  
But...he didn’t know how to do that.  
  
Hell, as much as the world seemed to think he had it all together, as much as his members relied on him and turned to him for his leadership, he felt lost most of the time, and then there was all of the complications of being an Alpha to contend with, the fact that he couldn’t just be normal, and in fact, couldn’t even be a normal Alpha either, and all of these things the big and small both meant one thing.  
  
 _I’ll end up alone._  
  
And there it was.  
  
As much as he wanted to pretend everything was about everyone else, about their expectations of him, about his role in their lives, about what he was supposed to do for who—when it all was broken down into the smallest degree the truth was more than clear.  
  
He wanted a life with someone whom he couldn’t have. Yuri was satisfied with his choices and he didn’t want to be with Ryosuke. Since Ryosuke couldn’t find it in his soul to even remotely consider another person, not on any level, it meant he would never have anyone.  
  
Not ever.  
  
 _I’m going to be alone._  
  
 _I am alone._  
  
He felt the floor shift underneath his feet, his body slumping down onto the floor, his entire spirit feeling like it fell away from him, everything spinning, because the truth was devastating.  
  
It was a deep, brutal blow to his heart— _too much, too much..._  
  
He knew he was shaking, he could feel himself trembling, he knew he was crying, but he didn’t know where he ended and the pain began—and for a moment, he wondered if this was to be the sum total of his life?  
  
 _Is this who I am?_  
  
 _Who I am going to be?_  
  
He couldn’t imagine anything apart from this pain, and then he let himself go, gave himself over to it, allowing the black depths of despair to engulf him whole.  
  
He didn’t know how long it had been, how much time had passed, not really, one wave of heartache and pain melted into the next—one cruel, hateful thought blended into the next—all warring with one another to create the deepest wounds.  
  
Then he felt it.  
  
The softness teasing around the edge of the darkness.  
  
It was like it was calling out his name, dragging him from the arms of pain that had been holding him a willing prisoner.  
  
“Please,” he felt like his voice was hoarse, his throat hurt, had he screamed?  
  
Were those his cries he had heard?  
  
“Shhhh...” there was a new sound in his ear and he froze, listening for it, trying to place it.  
  
“Where...where are you?” he swallowed roughly, his hands moving blindly in the space in front of himself, unsure if it was his imagination or reality at this point, “I can’t find you.”  
  
“I’m right here,” the voice whispered, and then there was something wrapping around him, and he felt warmth, a tender warmth that flowed across his skin, pulling him further from the darkness, dragging him into the light.  
  
“I...I don’t want to be alone,” he felt tears hot on his cheek.  
  
“You’re not,” the voice affirmed, “You never will be.”  
  
“I’m scared.”  
  
There was silence.  
  
“Please, don’t leave me,” he sobbed softly against his shoulder.  
  
His mind became suddenly silent, and the space around him, the darkness that he now recognized as their living room was silent.  
  
Except for the tiny, little gasp, close to his ear, and he jerked back, trying to twist so he could see who was there, but it was impossible, the room was so dark.  
  
 _How long was I sleeping?_  
  
He heard the noise again, a broken echo in the space around him, then he realized, recognized the sound in his ear, voice rough when he spoke, “Yuri?”  
  
The sound was louder then, and he felt it, felt the trembling body that was pressed up against his back, curled around his form where he had fallen to the floor, probably in the exact same place, yet, there was the warmth of Yuri’s body pressed up against him, wrapped around him, comforting him.  
  
“Yuri?”  
  
Ryosuke tried to move, his body stiff and angry at him for the abuse he’d put it through, twisting to try to face Yuri who sobbed louder, his arms and legs tightening, forcing Ryosuke to stay where he was.  
  
He moved his arms, wrapping them around Yuri’s, pulling him impossibly closer, drawing in a ragged breath as he felt a fresh wave of tears stream down his face, but this time they were different, they were speaking a new truth into the darkest parts of his soul.  
  
 _Is this my life too?_  
  
“Yes,” Yuri whispered, a tiny hiccup against his back as he sniffled, “This is _our_ life.”  
  
“ _Our_ life,” Ryosuke repeated the words, wonder filling him as he considered this.  
  
Yuri’s hands held him tightly, squeezing him so hard he had trouble taking a breath, and then he was gone—a cold emptiness where he had been.  
  
“Yuri?” Rysouke jerked around, intent on figuring out where he’d went, but he really wasn’t there, even if he could see clearly in the dark he couldn’t sense him even remotely near him, “Yuri?”  
  
He heard him across the room, noises in the kitchen and then the bathroom, and he sat up, the room spinning, blinking at the harsh light when Yuri turned on the hall light, the indirect light still too much after so many hours of darkness.  
  
He lifted his hand up to block the light, seeing Yuri approaching him and all he could think was that he looked like an angel, a halo of light surrounding him as he moved closer. He blinked rapidly when he sat down in front of him, trying to clear the fog from his eyes, startled when he saw his face.  
  
His eyes were swollen, his cheeks, red and blotchy, even now, there were tears slowly making a path down his cheeks. Ryosuke’s hand moved forward without his permission, swiping across his cheek, brushing the tears away, hating every one of them.  
  
 _He should never suffer._  
  
 _Never hurt._  
  
“You’re a damn idiot,” Yuri snapped, another wave of tears following despite the rough words.  
  
Ryosuke couldn’t argue, just grunting in response then screeching when he felt the stinging sensation on his hand, attempting to jerk it away from Yuri, but he wasn’t having it, not one bit of it, his eyes flashing from the wounds on his hand up to his face, “Hold still.”  
  
There was a tone in the words, an order of sorts that Ryosuke wanted to rebel against, wanted to tell him no, and shove him away, but he couldn’t, so he nodded slowly, relaxing his hand into Yuri’s grasp.  
  
He watched as he tended to his wounds, carefully cleaning them, then bandaging them with their meager supplies he’d clearly cobbled together with whatever he could find, stifling the protests he wanted to make when he’d hurt him in the process.  
  
When he’d finished, Yuri lifted his head, his eyes moving slowly, somehow bashful after all of this, to look at Ryosuke, drawing his hand up to place a tender kiss on top of the bandages.  
  
Ryosuke’s eyes widened, his heart soaring as he watched Yuri bend over his hand, the kiss lingering as his eyes fluttered closed, his face so beautiful with his long lashes laying across his cheeks, relief flooding through him when he realized, finally, there were no tears marring his beautiful face.  
  
Ryosuke felt a wave of emotion rush across his skin, but more than that, it felt like it was washing through his very soul. Where there was darkness suddenly there was light, and his body began to tremble under the magnitude of this moment, of the raw power flowing between them—of the raw intimacy of this moment.  
  
He’d never felt anything like this before, never dared to dream of such a feeling—maybe not with anyone, but in particular, not with Yuri.  
  
He dared not hope, but when Yuri lifted his eyes from his hand to look up to him, speaking softly he couldn’t help but feel the tiny spark of possibilities flare up within himself.  
  
“We need to talk.”

* * *


	5. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yuri—are you wearing Yama-chan’s pants to wo—” the words died in Hikaru’s throat, the air in the room stilling instantly, almost as if all the air had been sucked out, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as his eyes were inexplicably drawn to Ryosuke who was radiating a strange mixture of challenge and anger.
> 
> Ryosuke’s eyes were narrowed, his nostrils flaring as his eyes cut over to look down at Yuri’s pants…confused, because…yeah, those were his pants alright, his eyes darting up to find Yuri looking back at him, his expression bashful, almost ashamed but then he shrugged, pushing Ryosuke’s chest, “You calm down,” he looked at Hikaru, “…and you mind your business!”
> 
> He walked over to the fluffy loveseat in the corner, plopping unceremoniously down into it, stretching his legs across the seats as he glanced over to see everyone still looking at him, “Actually, that sort of goes for all of you, now that I think about it…just…all of you…”
> 
> He waved his arm dismissively, “Stay in your lane.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far: (refer to this section at the start of each chapter for recaps of the chapter before)
> 
> The World:  
> -the government has spent decades and billions of dollars to erase the history of they hybrids and to convince people it never happened
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Ryosuke:  
> -his Granny was an Omega who had an Alpha  
> -his parents know the truth but choose to deny it  
> -his Granny was a brilliant scientist  
> -his Granny had visions of a new hybrid evolving, was convinced Ryosuke was the first of his kind--a "super-hybrid"--meant to lead the hybrids into a new era  
> -knows instinctively he is a super-hybrid  
> -believes Yuri is his soul-bond Omega  
> -is a stupid ass.
> 
> Yuri:  
> -no surprise: Yuri is a hybrid  
> -knew something was different about himself and had researched as best he could  
> -is also a stupid ass.
> 
> ABO--  
> -mark their partner--an intimate act that is equal to marriage/lifetime committment  
> -marking generally happens during intimate relations and is pleasurable not painful  
> -when an Alpha marks an Omega their biological/physiological composition changes to reflect that Alpha  
> -the level of this change depends on various factors such as rank, personality, and such
> 
> Alphas:  
> -can have more than one Omega partner
> 
> Omegas:  
> -can tell what is wrong with their Alpha  
> -smell amazing to Alphas if they are unmarked
> 
> Betas:  
> -smell good to Alphas in a neutral way
> 
> Super-Hybrids:  
> -capable of a "soul-bond"  
> -could access one anothers powers, thoughts, energy, and will when needed

* * *

It had been a discussion filled with lots of laughter and tears and threats and insults.

A few times they were at each other's throats, angry, volatile, ready to beat the hell out of the other one to make them just listen, to understand.

They'd spent nearly two days, talking, screaming, and crying. 

It was a painful process of growing and learning, of bending and stretching, and of compromise more than anything.  
  
When they walked away, they both understood where they stood with each other, and also had a very clear understanding of what they were wanting in their relationship.

One of the hardest parts for both of them to admit was how truly afraid they were. Yes, they cared for each other, maybe they did love each other, who could say for sure, but the truth was, they already had something significantly more valuable, more real, more beautiful than what many people will ever discover--and to do this?

To pursue a relationship it felt to both them as if it were tempting fate. 

They already had something perfect, could they ask for something even more perfect?

What if they really just were overwhelmed with the chaos of the Alpha/Omega traits?

What if what they felt was just a result of that change and not real?

They'd mess up everything they had that they knew was real for something they couldn't be sure was.

It felt like too great of a risk--especially in light of the devastation it could bring into their friendship. 

Add to that their very real reservations about the traits forcing them to care for one another instead of it being genuine, something that neither of them was comfortable with. Of course, there were no reliable studies about it thanks to the government, and nothing of any substance in Ryosuke’s letters from his grandmother.

They'd each taken turns, being the good guy, being the bad guy, being the objective one, being the voice of reason, being the devil's advocate...they'd spun in circles, written the world in a million different paths, and lay in the floor in utter and sheer exhaustion.

Ryosuke had his arms crossed over his eyes, half asleep, half dead to the world, at a loss of how they could ever figure this out.

“I think we should date,” Yuri twisted onto his side, propping his head up on his hand, watching as Ryosuke slowly lowered his arms, his head turning, eyes narrowed as he looked over at him.

"And?"

Yuri shrugged, “Just that...I think we should..."

"We have said this and then listed fifty reasons why we shouldn't," Ryosuke sighed in defeat, "You have something that makes this time different?"

"Yeah," Yuri nodded causing Ryosuke to tilt his head, "I figure..we already do. I mean seriously, we practically already do date--don't we?"

Ryosuke considered what he had said, thinking it over, reluctantly shrugging because he couldn't be held accountable for anything with the lack of sleep, nutrition, and sanity he was experiencing at the moment.

"It's just..." Yuri scooted closer on the floor to where Ryosuke was, reaching forward to take his hand in his own, "We aren't going to figure it out by sitting here and talking in circles but...I think...if we knock down the wall, you know, like...get rid of the worry about all of that to just see what’s there—I sort of think maybe we can tell what's the truth?”

Ryosuke was staring at their connected hands, his eyes lifting up to look at Yuri, "What do you mean?”

“Well, I think we’d know if it were just the trait’s interference, or if we were the ones making the choices or not. We can't know that by just going through all of these scenarios in our imaginations, we can't know unless we're living it, breathing it, right?”  
  
“Hmm...” Ryosuke thought about this for a moment, unsure if they’d really have better clarity if they were a couple but at the same time, hope was alive in his heart, and he wanted more than anything to take that chance, "I...I don't want you to get hurt."

"Like I don't want you to get hurt, but honestly, could it be worst than how we are suffering now?"

Ryosuke laughed but it held no humor because out of all the things they'd said in the last two days--nothing held much more truth than that statement, "Probably not."

"It's just that...I am worried about your..."

Ryosuke hummed, encouraging him to carry on, Yuri took a deep breath, "If we dated and your fans found out it could be a prob--"

"Screw them," Ryosuke interrupted him, waving his free hand dismissively, "I don't mean that in the bad way but honestly at this point I would rather give up my career than to say no to a chance with you."

"Really?" Yuri's eyes were bright and joyfilled.

"Wouldn't you?" Ryosuke felt a little uneasy, wondering if Yuri didn't feel the same, but before he could give it another thought Yuri had tugged on his hand, "Don't be stupid, of course I would, we can quit today, right now....we'll buy a plot of land--well, let's be honest--you'll buy it..."

They both laughed, and Yuri continued, "...we'll grow roses and become that weird couple of old men who grow flowers and make everyone worry."

"Why would we make everyone worry?"

"Because we'd be so happy," Yuri blinked slowly, "Happiness makes people nervous."

"Hmm, I see," Ryosuke nodded, "What about the agency?"

"Screw them," Yuri repeated Ryosuke's words back to them, and they both melted into laughter.

"Are we really doing this?" Ryosuke asked, his hand reaching out to brush Yuri's hair off his face, he needed to see his eyes, to be sure of what was really happening.

"I want to, if you will, I want to," Yuri spoke the words as earnestly as he could, his heart skipping a beat when Ryosuke smiled so brightly it felt like the sun had filled the room.

_Trust your heart._

"I want to," Ryosuke nodded, dragging him into an awkward sideways hug--but it didn't matter--because there in that moment, not with flowers and poetry, or with lavish gifts and romantic dates—but with certain trepidation and concern, the two decided they would give dating a try.

They knew despite so much time together, knowing each other as well as they did, there was still so much they had yet to discover—about each other, about themselves, about the two of them together—so many wonderful memories to be made—and in the moments when they could push away all the worries and anxiety—it was a very happy ‘what if’.  
  


* * *

  
  
Ryosuke dragged Yuri by his hand into the dressing room where the other members were waiting, then with absolutely zero preamble, he announced, “Yuri and I are a couple.”  
  
When no one really said anything, instead just looked around at each other, shrugging, Ryosuke laughed, looking over at Yuri, “I told you.”  
  
“Wh—what...wait...you’re not surprised?” Yuri couldn’t believe it.  
  
“I mean,” Hikaru glanced around at the other members, “I might be alone in this, but...I thought that you guys were already dating...like...a long time ago?”  
  
Echos of ‘me too’ and ‘yes’ echoed in the room from the other members.  
  
“WHAT!?” Yuri was flabbergasted, “What in the world...why would you think that?”

The room exploded into all of the members talking at once.

"You're always together."

"You finish each other's sentences."

"You are always getting caught 'dating' by the papa..."

"You are never separated."

"You are like an old married couple."

"You live together?"

"You are you, what else is there?"

Ryosuke was just amused, as he had figured that this wouldn’t exactly be a surprise to any of the members at all, and was relieved he was right about that, just watching Yuri have a melt down over not being able to shock the members was priceless though.  
  
“I’m gonna say though,” Hikaru rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “If all the weird shit you two do is an example of what you’re like when you aren’t dating...I’m kinda of worried now.”  
  
“Oh, shut up!” Ryosuke snapped, laughing because even with Yuri being so belligerent about this situation, he could feel the joy in his aura and it was worth all the waiting they’d done to get there.  
  
“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that,” Yuri glanced nervously over at Ryosuke, hoping he would just blurt this part out too.  
  
He could see the way Ryosuke contemplated throwing him out there on his own and then he smiled, nodding a tiny nod to him, “I’m an Alpha and Yuri is an Omega—we are both hybrids.”  
  
Daiki made a big show of mock yawning, causing Yuri to blurt out, “You have to fucking be kidding me!?”  
  
“Well,” Daiki shook his head, laughing lightly, “No, I don’t know what you thought we thought about the weird sniffing and bonding behavior between you two—I mean honestly, if it weren’t that then what in the world were we supposed to think it was?”  
  
“I—I don’t know!” Yuri couldn’t believe they knew, “Wait, wait...I love all of you guys but...but there’s just no way you all put this together on your own! I just don’t believe it!”  
  
Ryosuke stepped over to the fluffy arm chair, plopping down in it and dragging a lightly protesting Yuri down to sit on his lap as he watched the room with amusement.  
  
“What, you think we’re not smart enough to figure it out?” Yuto asked, raising his eyebrow in disbelief.  
  
“That’s what I am saying exactly,” Yuri pushed back.  
  
“We aren’t,” Keito announced, causing the rest of the room to explode in chatter about how he ruined everything, he just shook his head, “There’s a time and place for that kind of play and this isn’t it.”  
  
The other members considered this while Keito continued to explain, “A letter came here about two years or so ago—maybe three now?”  
  
He glanced around at the others who nodded that seemed about right, so he continued, “It was sent anonymously and came to Kota. He shared it with us when he received it.”  
  
“He shared it with all of you but...not us?” Yuri questioned, and even Ryosuke felt like this was something he didn’t expect, though he didn’t know why he was so certain the members knew, he’d never wondered how.  
  
“What did the letter say?” Ryosuke prodded.  
  
“That you were an Alpha and that Yuri was your Omega—and it sent references for us to look up and some other stuff...”  
  
Keito faded off at this, his cheeks flaming red as his eyes flashed over to look at Yuto and then away, Kei clicked his tongue sharply and then picked up the conversation, “We dismissed the letter forthright, of course we did because it was insane and we all know that there are no hybrids now—at least that’s what the illustrious government wants to tell us and we’re meant to believe.”  
  
He rolled his eyes dramatically, “At any rate, obviously, when the two of you started showing signs of...being so...”  
  
“Freaky,” Daiki supplied.  
  
“Strange,” Yuto injected.  
  
“Weird,” Hikaru offered.  
  
“Oh my God!” Ryosuke waved his hand at them, trying to lean around Yuri to glare at Daiki and Yuto, “Just shut the hell up!"  
  
“You asked,” Daiki hissed in return.  
  
“I asked what the letter said,” Ryosuke snapped, “Not your opinion of me and Yuri—it’s not like we did things on purpose or something.”  
  
“We know that,” Kota said softly, raising his hands up and down in a gesture for everyone to calm down, “We know that, everyone needs to stop joking around about this.”  
  
Daiki shrugged, “I wasn’t joking, they are freaks.”  
  
“Dai-chan,” Kota leveled his best parental glare at him, causing him to shrink into his chair, nodding for them to go on.  
  
“I have the letter here,” Kota opened his bag, digging around for the letter.  
  
“You carry a letter with you every day from three years ago?” Yuri was curious about why he would ever do that.  
  
“I have kept it with me every day since it arrived,” Kota nodded, pulling the envelope out of his bag.  
  
“Why in the world would you do that?” Yuri asked, watching as Ryosuke took the letter from Kota, his hands shaking as he drew it down to look at it.  
  
But he knew...he could feel it, he saw the front of the envelope, his eyes widening as he turned to look down at Ryosuke who was staring blankly at the front of the envelope.  
  
“Ryosuke...” Yuri’s voice was a whisper, his words halting as he tried to weigh and measure each one to be sure he wasn’t going to say something wrong or that would hurt Ryosuke, “Could your...do you think...is it possible your grandmother is...still alive?”  
  
“Your grandmother?” Yuto asked, standing up to lean over them to get a look at the envelope.  
  
“My grandmother definitely wrote this,” Ryosuke confirmed, unable to move, because the last letter he had received from her according to the box he had was five years ago—but if this letter arrived two to three years ago, that means it arrived after his letters ended.  
  
“To answer your question,” Kota smiled, patting the top of Yuri’s head, “I kept the letter with me because the letter told me I needed to and I believed it—now I am glad I listened.”  
  
When they’d read the letter Ryosuke was amazed to learn his grandmother had the foresight to send this to his members—explaining to them that this was going to happen and that they needed to support both him and Yuri through the changes that would happen when the trait reactivated.  
  
It was a like a Cliff’s note version of his book at home, though there were a few additions in the letter that made him laugh, his eyes landing on the other members, as she had said that once the Alpha and Omega trait had activated in Ryosuke and Yuri, that it would signal to any other hybrids who had the dormant trait to activate. It might be to different degrees, and might happen in rather unpredictable ways, but it would happen and they should all prepare for it.  
  
Of special note was the revelation from a vision she shared that their group had two additional Alphas and matching Omegas—something that shocked everyone.  
  
They’d started a betting pool on who was going to be which.  
  
And in that moment Ryosuke and Yuri could not have been more thankful for these boys being a part of not just their group, but their dearest and most precious friends.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
“Do you smell that?” Ryosuke whispered, leaning closer to Yuri, who was staring down at the pages with the song lyrics they are going to be performing next.  
  
“Smell what?”  
  
“It’s...just wrong...like...there’s a weird smell...” Ryosuke looked around at the other members who were all focused on their work, “Seriously? You can’t smell that?”  
  
Yuri shifted to the side, moving his cheek against Ryosuke’s in an attempt to smell whatever he was smelling from his own perspective, inhaling deeply.  
  
Ryosuke felt his heart stutter and skip, Yuri’s cheek soft and warm on his own, the fragrant scent that was pure Yuri rushing across his senses, his eyes closing as he savored the moment.  
  
“I don’t smell anything unusual,” Yuri announced but did not move away from Ryosuke, holding his cheek there against his.  
  
“What does that mean?”  
  
“I can smell...” Yuri hesitated for a moment, stopping himself before he blurted out ‘you!’ because somehow he knew that everyone would make fun of him if he said it.  
  
Yet, even so, he couldn’t stop himself from turning his head slowly until he was looking straight at Ryosuke who was staring at him wide eyed, their noses touching, and the smell of him was all around him, enveloping him, his voice soft, “All I can smell is you.”  
  
“That’s all I smell now, too,” Ryosuke whispered in return, smiling, “I mean...you...not me...”  
  
“For the love of God,” Daiki lamented, throwing his hands up in the air when everyone looked at him, “Are we going to just let them be like this and pretend it’s perfectly normal?”  
  
Kei shrugged, focusing back onto his own lyrics sheet, Yuto and Keito both seemed mildly interested, but not fully committed, and the other members were all in various states of concern—but no one spoke up.  
  
“Really?” Daiki shook his head, “No one but me then?”  
  
“I wouldn’t say that,” Hikaru stopped him, “But...I mean...”  
  
“Well, go on then,” Ryosuke snapped, glaring at them, “Say what you want to say!”  
  
“You talk a lot about...smelling each other...” Hikaru spoke the words slowly, as if he were concentrating on making sure he was fully understood, “It’s a little...strange...don’t you think? Maybe?”  
  
“Maybe so,” Ryosuke hissed, “...but you’re all weird too, don’t make me list all the things I could say about each of you.”  
  
Ryosuke honestly couldn’t care less what any of them thought about him, but he’d felt the way Yuri had stiffened, his sharp inhale when they started talking and he wasn’t gonna have it, not even a little bit.  
  
“I mean,” Daiki shrugged, “Yeah, sure we do, but...you’re _smelling_ each other.”  
  
“It is a little strange, isn’t it?” Kei looked up from his page, frowning, his brow furrowing into a scowl that Ryosuke couldn’t properly read the meaning of, because his tone wasn’t particularly confrontational or negative, “I mean all things considered...”  
  
“I wouldn’t interject into this conversation,” Ryosuke snipped at him, narrowing his eyes, “You don’t want me to describe how YOU smell.”  
  
“How I...” Kei leaned up, raising his arm to sniff himself, “I don’t smell like anything other than my cologne.”  
  
“That really isn’t true,” Ryosuke sighed, “I don’t really know how you all can’t smell this...”  
  
He pressed Yuri back a bit so he could stand up, moving slowly around the group, sniffing the air, and when he got to Daiki he stopped, leaning closer to him as he inhaled sharply, “Well, of course it was gonna be you.”  
  
“What? What was gonna be me?!” Daiki sat up straight in his seat, looking around at everyone like any of them understood what was happening.  
  
“Are you taking any medications?” Ryosuke ask him, his hand on his chin as he tried to solve the puzzle of the strange smell coming from Daiki.  
  
“No,” Daiki shrugged, “No medicine or anything like that.”  
  
“New foods?”  
  
“Nuh-uh,” Daiki smelled his own arm, not really smelling anything unusual, “Can you really smell me, like something...different than I smell?”  
  
“Yes,” Ryosuke frowned, “You usually smell...fresh...like freshly pressed linens or something infused with sunshine...”  
  
“You think I’m like fresh sunshine,” Daiki declared proudly, “Thank yo—”  
  
“I _do not_ think you are like fresh sunshine, you idiot,” Ryosuke reached forward to pop Daiki’s head, “I said it’s what you smell like—if anything it’s a very normal, neutral smell compared to most so don’t get too proud over it.”  
  
“Then what do you smell now?”  
  
“There’s a sour note to it, like...umm...it’s like the smell that a watermelon has when it starts going sour. It’s not exactly foul, or bad, but it’s certainly not the good fragrance you normally have.”  
  
“Huh,” Daiki glanced at the others, “What about them?”  
  
“It’s my turn,” Kei stated, tilting his head when everyone looked at him surprised, “I smell it as well.”  
  
“What!?” Ryosuke was dumbfounded, “You smell Daiki?”  
  
“I do and it is just as you said, though I don’t really smell the fresh washed linens or whatever, it’s more like...cucumbers and melons in the summertime. But...yes, there’s an odd flavor to him right now.”  
  
“Flavor?” Daiki balked, “Why do you have to make it weird?”  
  
“ _I’m_ making it weird?” Kei rolled his eyes dramatically, “We have Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum over there,” he gestured at Ryosuke and Yuri, “Sniffing each other like rabid animals and I am the one making it weird.”  
  
“In the animal kingdom, sniffing is a form of greeting and an actual language,” Yuri announced in a matter of fact tone.  
  
Ryosuke plopped down into the chair next to Yuri, sighing, his hand landing on his knee to get his attention, shaking his head when Yuri looked over at him innocently.  
  
The others began to laugh, causing Yuri to glance around, “What? What is it?”  
  
The others just laughed harder at his cuteness, but he was frustrated by their behavior and especially at not being in on whatever they were laughing about, in particular if it was at his expense.  
  
“What’s so funny? Animals do that, it’s a base instinct for them to sniff each other, it tells them important things about each other and they use it as a vital form of communication, it’s all true.”  
  
The others were grabbing each other, laughing their heads off, and Yuri was scowling, jumping when Ryosuke grabbed his arm to make him turn to look at him.  
  
“Yuri, that’s the whole point, I’m trying to tell them this isn’t a big deal...but you’re telling them this is ‘animal’ behavior and base instinct as part of a social communication.”  
  
Yuri frowned, “Oh.”  
  
He looked down at his hands clasped tightly in his lap, “But...it is true.”  
  
Ryosuke sighed in resignation, blocking out the others who were still losing their stupid minds over something so inane, “Maybe so...but we seriously don’t have the time to unpack that Pandora’s box right now.”  
  


* * *

  
  
The tour had been going for three weeks, and they’d all settled into a fairly normal routine all things considered. The truth was, they all were a little quirky, and they were like a bunch of childish siblings, so it was mostly a mess when they were all together. Yuri and Ryosuke had come to the arena for practice together, so they walked into the dressing room together, thinking it was strange when everyone who was already there fell into silence.  
  
“What?” Ryosuke glanced down at his clothing, twisting his body to see if he had something on his clothes, or someone had stuck a note telling the staff to kick him or something, his eyes catching Yuri’s who was studying him as well, shrugging when he didn’t see anything amiss.  
  
The other members all just stared, and then awkwardly looked away.  
  
“What is going on here?” Ryosuke demanded, stepping into the room, glancing back to make sure Yuri was following him.  
  
“Yuri—are you wearing Yama-chan’s pants to wo—” the words died in Hikaru’s throat, the air in the room stilling instantly, almost as if all the air had been sucked out, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as his eyes were inexplicably drawn to Ryosuke who was radiating a strange mixture of challenge and anger.  
  
Ryosuke’s eyes were narrowed, his nostrils flaring as his eyes cut over to look down at Yuri’s pants…confused, because…yeah, those were his pants alright, his eyes darting up to find Yuri looking back at him, his expression bashful, almost ashamed but then he shrugged, pushing Ryosuke’s chest, “You calm down,” he looked at Hikaru, “…and you mind your business!”  
  
He walked over to the fluffy loveseat in the corner, plopping unceremoniously down into it, stretching his legs across the seats as he glanced over to see everyone still looking at him, “Actually, that sort of goes for all of you, now that I think about it…just…all of you…”  
  
He waved his arm dismissively, “Stay in your lane.”  
  
Daiki scoffed loudly, his mouth opening but he stopped when Hikaru held his hand up, jerking his head sideways to get him to look at Ryosuke.  
  
Daiki leaned around Hikaru, his eyes catching Ryosuke’s who were dark and stormy, his entire countenance far too hostile and…scary for Daiki to risk saying one of his quips that he’d normally insert into the situation here, rolling his eyes as he sat down in the chair he’d been in before, crossing his arms, just about done with the weird attitudes in high supply around here these days.  
  
He continued to stare at Hikaru, a strange sensation swelling up inside him and then he heard Kei inhale sharply, a loud clicking from his tongue and then a single word that felt almost like it was spoken directly into his mind instead of into his ears, “ _Don’t_.”  
  
Ryosuke’s head snapped to the side to look at Kei, eyes wide, and then he threw his hands up in the air, “DAMN IT!”  
  
Everyone jumped, unsure of what had just happened, but Kei just laughed softly, his expression a knowing smirk as he went back to reading his book.  
  
“What?” Daiki glanced around, curious if anyone else knew what had just happened, but they all seemed just as clueless.  
  
“Yama-chan,” Yuri spoke the name softly, and like he was made specifically to respond, Ryosuke’s head snapped to the side to look at Yuri, his expression immediately softening when Yuri smiled at him, “Come sit with me.”  
  
Ryosuke turned to look at the others, glaring at them, for reasons he really didn’t understand himself as he crossed the room to sit down, moving Yuri’s legs to rest on top of his lap as he continued to stare down the other members.  
  
He blinked rapidly when Yuri snapped his fingers in front of his face, “I said to simmer down! You’re fine, I’m fine, no one is out to get you. This is your family.”  
  
Ryosuke looked at him, nodding, “I lost...”  
  
“Yep,” Yuri shrugged, “I could have told you that!”  
  
“Well, why didn’t you?” Ryosuke frowned, knowing full well Yuri was not lying and he really was going to win.  
  
“You wouldn’t have listened, and you know it.”  
  
Ryosuke shrugged unable to argue with that at all.  
  
“Well,” Kota cleared his throat, wanting to redirect everyone, “Now that that’s settled can we talk setlist please…”  
  


* * *

  
  
  
“You are literally wearing his _entire_ outfit,” Hikaru pointed to Yuri’s clothes, leaning forward in his seat, “I mean…you could at least try to be subtle about this…”  
  
Yuri narrowed his eyes, “Who said I care about being subtle?”  
  
“So, you’re admitting that really is Ryosuke’s outfit? His pants, shirt, all of it?” Hikaru wasn’t sure what to think about this, or what to do with the information, glancing around the plane to see if anyone else was listening to their conversation, discovering everyone else either asleep or with headphones on while watching the in-flight movie.  
  
“And if I am?” Yuri challenged.  
  
“We’re going to Taiwan, landing at the airport and they have like a ton of fans going to be there to greet us, along with the press, this is a pretty big deal, you know? You won’t have time to change, and you’re basically walking into that crowd wearing an entire outfit that people will definitely recognize belongs to Yama-chan!”  
  
Hikaru failed to see what Yuri did not understand about this situation, wondering if the bathroom was big enough for Yuri to change into whatever he’d carried in his overnight bag.  
  
“I’m not changing my outfit,” Yuri stated firmly, causing Hikaru to pull back in surprise, opening his mouth to speak, but Yuri held his hand up to stop him, “This is the outfit I brought to wear, I’m wearing it…there’s nothing else to discuss.”  
  
“I just think tha—”  
  
“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD,” Ryosuke ripped the earplugs out of his ear, bolting up so he could lean around Yuri to look at Hikaru who had jumped at the loud noise and movement, “Hikka, to be perfectly honest, you kinda have an unhealthy fascination with Yuri’s pants!”  
  
Hikaru scowled at this, his mouth opening and closing trying to defend himself, but Ryosuke made a dismissive noise in his throat, continuing on, “Not to mention, I mean, seriously, what the fuck do you care if he’s wearing my clothes or not!?”  
  
“I mean…we have to be conscientious about things and I think that it would be wisdom to consider how oth—”  
  
“Look,” Ryosuke interrupted him, “I’m too tired and busy and tired and done with all of this, and fucking tired, to be bothered about what you think about Yuri wearing…”  
  
He leaned back a bit, trying to get a read on what Yuri was actually wearing, his eyes widening as he took in a complete outfit that most certainly was his own, “Damn it, Chinen! Did you take those out of my closet?”  
  
“I most certainly did not,” Yuri scoffed at him, shrugging nonchalantly, “I got them from the laundry service.”  
  
Ryosuke frowned, his eyes fixated on the pants he’d been missing, “I was looking for those pants!”  
  
“They fit _me_ better,” Yuri announced, waiting for Ryosuke to argue, smiling when he merely raised an eyebrow, clearly admitting he was utterly and completely correct in his assessment of which of the two of them wore the pants better.  
  
“I want them back,” Ryosuke said, to which Yuri stood up and made like he was going to take the pants off right then and there.  
  
“For God’s sake,” Ryosuke was exasperated, rolling his eyes at the way Yuri was currently shaking his ass directly in front of him, “Just sit down!” grabbing Yuri’s shirt to drag him back into his seat, “I don’t mean right now—”  
  
“Your loss,” Yuri’s voice was sing-song, tilting his head, smiling beatifically as he batted his eye lashes at him.  
  
Ryosuke stared at him, dumbfounded, his expression blank for a moment, trying to process what Yuri had just said, his mind running into a million different directions, most of them, not anywhere near where his mind should be headed by any stretch of the imagination, his cheeks flaming at the flustered feeling in the pit of his stomach, muttering, “I…It’s…you…just…whatever!”  
  
He flung his arm out, pressing Yuri back against his seat so he had a clear view of Hikaru, intent on redirecting him, but he stopped with his mouth open when he took in his expression.  
  
Hikaru’s face was twisted in a strange look of fascinated horror, like he was watching something terrible but couldn’t tear his eyes away.  
  
“What?” Ryosuke demanded.  
  
“What? What? Yeah, what!? That’s the real question isn’t it!? I want to know right now—what exactly is going on with you two,” Hikaru’s eyes narrowed impossibly further, suspicion tainting his words, “This whole...Alpha thing...are you two...you know?”  
  
“What on earth do you mean?” Ryosuke practically screamed the words, Yuri reaching over to slap his hand across his mouth while Ryosuke pushed firmly against Yuri’s chest when he attempted to sit forward, sighing dramatically when Ryosuke didn’t lower his arm, simply turning his head to study Hikaru as well.  
  
“It’s just…you two…I…”  
  
“Hikka!”  
  
The three of them turned in unison to look back down the aisle of the plane to where Kei was gesturing for Hikaru to come to sit with him.  
  
“Come here, Hikka,” Kei called out, patting the seat next to him animatedly, his voice almost melodic.  
  
Hikaru didn’t spare Ryosuke or Yuri another glance, jumping up and heading down the aisle, but Ryosuke didn’t miss the smile on Kei’s face when he made eye contact, winking so fast if Ryosuke hadn’t been so hyper fixated on everything thanks to Yuri’s stupidly dumb teasing he might have thought he imagined it.  
  
_Weird._

* * *


	6. Understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His head jerked to look down when Yuri twisted his fingers into the edge of his shirt, tugging softly on it, allowing himself to be moved those few inches closer to him, looking up to discover Yuri smiling, his head tilting as he seemed to radiate approval.
> 
> “That…whole weird display of…what…testosterone?” Daiki studied Ryosuke, sitting down in the chair behind the stylist station, “...or do you like have some other kind of freaky hormones that make you all...wait—wait!! Is it your Alpha trait that made you all bad ass like that?”
> 
> “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ryosuke stated, but he couldn’t hide the smile that was trying to show itself, his body loose and his tone back to conversational, shrugging, “There was no display.”
> 
> “Well, I mean the hell? Yes, there was!” Daiki sat forward, ready to challenge Ryosuke, but paused when his eyes narrowed, his head turning slowly to stare at Daiki.
> 
> “No…” Ryosuke tilted his head, it was minute, a small movement really, but somehow it held a veiled threat, “There wasn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far: (refer to this section at the start of each chapter for recaps of the chapter before)
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Ryosuke:  
> -is no longer sure if his Granny has passed away as he assumed  
> -will literally fight anyone who mistreats Yuri
> 
> Yuri:  
> -wore Ryosuke's pants to work  
> -escalated to wearing ALL of Ryosuke's clothing
> 
> Kei:  
> -Can smell Daiki's scent, indicating he is a hybrid  
> -is an Alpha
> 
> Hikaru:  
> -is Kei's Omega
> 
> Jump:  
> -received a letter from Granny Yamada explaining about Ryosuke and Yuri and revealing  
> -there were going to be two additional Alphas and matching Omegas whose traits would activate once they were exposed to Ryosuke's activated trait  
> -these may or may not activate and show themselves in the same way as the original 'parent' Alpha (Ryosuke)
> 
> ABO--
> 
> Alphas:  
> -can smell subtle (or not so subtle) changes in other's scents
> 
> Omegas:  
> -can smell other's scents just not to the level of an Alpha

* * *

Ryosuke froze when he walked into the dressing room, one of the older boys from a different group standing at the styling counter, arms crossed as he leaned against the edge of the surface, his eyes fixated on Yuri who was sitting in the chair waiting for his stylist to arrive, slowly spinning the seat back and forth as he listened to the other guy tell a story.  
  
Ryosuke couldn’t help it, he felt a spike of possessiveness flare up, jealousy running across all the nerves in his body and all he wanted to do is to grab Yuri and run him out of the room…not let anyone see him, touch him, be near him…which was…utterly insane.  
  
 _Seriously, you can’t own another person…you can’t pack him away in fluffy cotton and keep him for yourself._  
  
His eyes shifted to look at Yuri who was still spinning the seat and his face was so pure, so full of light and happiness that Ryosuke wanted to just fall to the ground in front of him and ask him to just shine for him alone.  
  
 _There is something wrong with me._  
  
 _I think I need therapy._  
  
 _You’re an Alpha, this is probably just another part of it, seriously you need to stop trying to stifle these things, just let them ride and take care of him._  
  
 _Why am I talking to myself like this?_  
  
 _God, I really do need therapy._  
  
 _I can’t keep people from wanting to be close to Yuri._  
  
 _I can’t do that…_  
  
He knew this, he recognized it, fully understood that it was irrational and impossible and stupid and a million other ‘un’ and ‘ir’ words, but he couldn’t help it. It just was what it was, and it was on top of him without a single thought, every single cell of his body honed in and attuned to the boy across the room who was spinning in the chair, and maybe even more so, at least in this moment, the guy who was looking at him.  
  
Ryosuke could see through him, see through his kind act, he was testing, trying to see if he could get Yuri’s attention, and suddenly Ryosuke was seeing red, his focus narrowed, moving across the room like a flash, standing between Yuri and the boy.  
  
“Ryosuke!” Yuri’s voice was animated and happy, though he fell silent when he sensed the emotions rolling off of him, realizing something was happening, but not sure what it was.  
  
“Takada…” Ryosuke said the name, and it was just a name, but the way he said it was as a curse, as a taunt, and the boy stood up to his full height, taking a step forward to diminish the space between himself and Ryosuke.  
  
To be fair, the boy stood well over a head taller than Ryosuke, but he didn’t back down, rather, Ryosuke’s entire stance screamed ‘predator’ his tiny form radiating a dangerous aura, his head lifted up, eyes dilated as he stepped forward in response.  
  
“You don’t want to do this,” Takada spoke the words as a matter of fact, but Ryosuke just bit back a laugh at how bold the boy thought he was going to be.  
  
 _Hell no._  
  
“Walk away.”  
  
The boy stood still, and Yuri had shifted, peeking around Ryosuke to look up at him, still trying to piece together what was happening here, what was going on, because he’d never felt this before from Ryosuke, never saw this weird stance he was projecting, and all he could think was…  
  
 _It’s hot._  
  
 _Damn it, brain, get your shit together._  
  
There was a strange battle happening, he knew that…while no words were being spoken aloud, and while they weren’t coming to blows, Yuri was positive there was a war being waged in that moment, and then, his eyes widened as Ryosuke took a step forward, a low, menacing sound erupting from his chest, so faint, Yuri was sure he would not hear it from even a few feet away.  
  
Ryosuke took another step forward, his head tilted up to continue to hold eye contact with the other boy, his shoulders rolled forward, hands balled into fists, and everything about him screamed that the boy should _run_ , that he was the prey—and then, the other boy seemed to shrink.  
  
His entire form seemed to fold in on himself, becoming so…small. Whatever swagger, whatever confidence he’d had that had caused him to step up toe to toe with Ryosuke had been deflated, his entire being flustered as he stepped backward quickly, bumping into the counter, and then mumbling some words about needing to go somewhere to do something and then he was gone.  
  
Ryosuke twisted his body, his eyes affixed to the boy, watching him go, his fingernails biting into the palms of his hands as there was a part of him that did not want to let him go, that wanted to impress upon him in whatever method necessary that he was not to come sniffing around Yuri again, that he didn’t belong there.  
  
 _He’s mine._  
  
 _DAMN IT._  
  
H _e is not mine...he’s his own...stop that!_  
  
Ryosuke’s eyes shifted to discover Hikaru and Daiki standing just inside the door the boy had just walked through, their eyes wide as they’d watched the strange encounter.  
  
“What was _that_!?” Daiki asked in wonder, turning to look at the door where the boy had walked through, shifting to move over to where the other boys were.  
  
“What was what?” Ryosuke said the words dismissively but he knew it was stupid because if the boys had been there for even the last twenty seconds, they would know there was something going on…but he just really, really wasn’t ready to try to sort this out.  
  
His head jerked to look down when Yuri twisted his fingers into the edge of his shirt, tugging softly on it, allowing himself to be moved those few inches closer to him, looking up to discover Yuri smiling, his head tilting as he seemed to radiate approval.  
  
“That…whole weird display of…what…testosterone?” Daiki studied Ryosuke, sitting down in the chair behind the stylist station, “...or do you like have some other kind of freaky hormones that make you all...wait—wait!! Is it your Alpha trait that made you all bad ass like that?”  
  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ryosuke stated, but he couldn’t hide the smile that was trying to show itself, his body loose and his tone back to conversational, shrugging, “There was no display.”  
  
“Well, I mean the hell? Yes, there was!” Daiki sat forward, ready to challenge Ryosuke, but paused when his eyes narrowed, his head turning slowly to stare at Daiki.  
  
“No…” Ryosuke tilted his head, it was minute, a small movement really, but somehow it held a veiled threat, “There _wasn’t_.”  
  
For a moment Daiki thought about pushing this issue, confused about Ryosuke’s behavior but then he realized this was not new—he’d been acting exceedingly strange for months, but at least they knew what was going on now. Still, he decided it was best to pick his battles, “Fine, whatever. You do you.”  
  
He waved his hand dismissively, grabbing his phone to play his game, pointedly ignoring the other members in the room.  
  
This left Hikaru, who had not moved from the door, taking in the scene, and when Ryosuke glanced over to see if he was going to need to handle something with him, he was surprised to see a look of clear approval on his face.  
  
Hikaru glanced back at the door where the boy had left, and then back to Ryosuke, nodding his head, “Good.”  
  
Ryosuke grunted in acknowledgment though he wasn’t really sure what exactly was good about it or why this warranted his approval, but he was at least glad it wasn’t going to turn into another conversation about Yuri wearing his pants again.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Ryosuke had felt very protective over Yuri for a few weeks now, though he really thought maybe the word protective wasn’t quite right, because while he did want to protect Yuri in the broadest sense of the word…the really odd underlying emotion was one of possessiveness. It had started back with that idiot Takada and just seemed to grow from there.  
  
He wasn’t the possessive type though, it was just something that didn’t particularly resonate with him in general, at least not before now…he wasn’t one who was too tied to much of anything, emotionally, physically, whatever—he didn’t care much about possessions—well, except for maybe his game consoles but otherwise?  
  
 _Who cares?_  
  
Yet…he couldn’t shake this feeling that kept swelling up within himself, that wanted to stand between Yuri and everyone else, to stop them from touching him, to stop them from interacting with him.  
  
He hated it, and couldn’t really make sense of it, because honestly, the real issue is that…well…to be blunt…everyone smells.  
  
Whether good or bad, everyone seemed to have a distinct odor, and at first he thought maybe Johnny’s had picked up a contract with a fragrance company and was making all of the talents wear them despite half of them stinking to high heaven.  
  
Then he realized, no one else seemed to notice, no one else really smelled anything different, and when he was bold enough to ask one of the other members if they smelled a particular scent, it for the most part ended up with them looking at him like he was insane.  
  
 _Maybe I am?_  
  
He just couldn’t be sure anymore because he knew that Kei and Keito were both Alphas, and while they had a few times experienced things he had—nothing had really measured up to how it was for Ryosuke.  
  
 _Maybe I’m a broken Alpha._  
  
What it really amounted to was that people smelled…and an extraordinary number of people smelled really BAD. There were many who were more or less neutral, and then a handful of those who had a somewhat appealing scent, but in truth, no one smelled like Yuri.  
  
He felt creepy when he thought about it, trying to define the nature of Yuri’s aroma—feeling like it was super weird to even think about it long enough to label the aspects of his essence—yet, in the dark of night, he’d certainly spent more than a few hours contemplating it until he’d narrowed it down to the finest detail possible.  
  
 _Yuri smells like a work of art._  
  
Ryosuke smiled to himself, glancing around the table where the group was gathered eating their lunch together, leaning to the side just slightly toward Yuri, inhaling slowly so as to not draw attention to himself.  
  
The distinct scent of the purest sunshine warming the sand on a pristine beach filled his senses, so wonderful and good, it made his toes curl in pleasure.  
  
His fragrance was so perfect, so perfectly him, and it was so raw, so real, and Ryosuke felt like an addict in a lot of ways which was thoroughly disturbing on a lot of levels—yet, he couldn’t really care, because he loved, absolutely loved and adored the way Yuri smelled.  
  
At least, he did when he was at home, untouched by others—because as soon as he touched something someone else had touched, or someone touched him, the scent was tainted somehow—slightly off, as if it were taking on properties of the scent of the other person, and at this point in his life, there were very few things that caused Ryosuke to proverbially lose it than when he could smell someone else’s fragrance on Yuri.  
  
 _Especially, if it was another Alpha._  
  
 _It makes me crazy and want to kill someone._  
  
He hated it.  
  
He glanced over, watching as Yuri reached to take the soy sauce out of Yuto’s hand, their fingers brushing through the exchange, and he had to grit his teeth to stop from asking Yuri to wash his hands.  
  
Right then.  
  
Immediately, because the second they touched he could smell the change in Yuri’s aroma.  
  
In all fairness, the change in his scent didn’t last long, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes, but it was enough to make Ryosuke uncomfortable, because honestly, how many people needed to touch Yuri in a single damn day?  
  
He would just get to smelling like himself and then someone would touch him again and there it went, off the scent goes…and the worst, the absolute worst were those people with the horribly pungent stenches that he could hardly stand, the Alphas, because it made Yuri smell sour and offensive to all of Ryosuke’s senses.  
  
At least Yuto smelled reasonably nice, a little bit like rain in a spring field or something Ryosuke couldn’t really put his finger on to be perfectly honest because he didn’t care enough to figure it out, dismissing it, and while it did change Yuri’s scent—it wasn’t exactly too much so he could live with it, for now.  
  
Out of the other members only two of them had an odor that Ryosuke hated—Kei and Keito—the other Alphas. Hate actually was probably not even a strong enough word for his reaction to them—he loathed the way they smelled, recoiled from it, was disgusted by it and wanted to douse them in bleach to try to remove it—though thankfully, they didn’t smell that way all the time, only occasionally—yet, if they touched Yuri—they wrecked his scent entirely.  
  
He glanced around the table, still thinking maybe he was a little insane, because there were no superpowers here, that wasn’t how he understood it, yet, unlike the others, he was acutely sensitive to all of them. Obviously, he had no desire to be so fixated on what people smell like, especially when other people don’t seem to even notice it—yet…here he was.  
  
He smiled when his gaze landed on Yuya, the corners of his lips curling up into a smile as he sensed the soft smell between them—the salty wind, a gentle breeze over the ocean waters...tranquil, serene, so peaceful. Yuya had a perfect smell, if he didn’t love Yuri’s scent so much, he’d definitely say that Yuya had the next best smell of everyone he’d ever smelled before, probably just because of the ocean scent.  
  
 _God...I’m insane._  
  
 _I really, really am._  
  
Daiki smelled like clean clothes hanging on a line in the warm sunlight—fresh, comforting, simple but still pleasant. His scent was in direct contrast to Hikaru’s—the aroma of old books, worn and well read—within a study, where a fire was burning projecting a gentle heat across the space—the mahogany shelves casting shadows across the room.  
  
Never mind how much he enjoyed Kota’s too—it was hard to pin down, but somehow it seemed like it must be what a rain forest would smell like—refreshing, peaceful—life giving. Somehow it was like a blanket of warmth around him, and he didn't mind it a bit, and it was one of the few scents that didn't completely change every aspect of Yuri's own personal fragrance.  
  
He looked at Kei, cringing as the memory of his scent washed over him, frowning, because it was so disgusting, so pungent—like curdled milk that had been sitting in a locked car for a month, burning his nose and making his stomach roll. And then there was Keito—dear God—Keito, who was genuinely one of the softest, most precious people Ryosuke had ever met—but, Lord how he reeked. His scent varied from a dog that had been outside in the sun too long and needed a bath to straight up nasty wet dog smell that had been in a sauna for sixteen hours.  
  
He shook his head, knowing he had a foul expression, distracted by Yuto who was in the middle of some animated conversation about something Ryosuke couldn’t be bothered to figure out, his mind becoming fixated on the way the fragrance of rain, misting across a field of wildflowers, blossomed and full in the Spring met his senses.  
  
 _Seriously, he smells really good too..._  
  
He shuddered when he felt Keito’s gaze on him, his eyes connecting with his own—watching in abject horror as if it were being viewed in slow motion as Keito’s hand reached across the table to give Yuri a napkin—his eyes never leaving Ryosuke’s.  
  
 _Oh, please, no, not this, not today!_  
  
Without thought, Ryosuke’s arm snapped out, slapping Keito’s hand away on instinct, surprised by his own actions, eyes wide as Keito drew his hand back to his chest, blinking at Ryosuke while the rest of the members were staring at him in stunned silence.  
  
“Sorry,” Ryosuke huffed, grabbing the napkin from beside his plate to hand to Yuri, “I was…just giving him mine is all.”  
  
Yuri took the napkin from Ryosuke to wipe his chin where he’d spilled a bit of soup, his eyes not leaving Ryosuke’s as he contemplated what exactly was going on.  
  
“Anyway,” Kota cleared his throat, causing everyone to shift nervously, as they redirected themselves back into a normal conversation.  
  
Yet, Ryosuke was hyper fixated on Yuri now, watching him out of the corner of his eye, doing his best to be subtle when he reached forward to push the seasoning shaker across the table away from Yuri when Kei had set it back down, telling Yuri he should try it.  
  
Yuri watched Ryosuke’s hand with curiosity, confused at why he was making a point to move the seasoning too far away for him to reach it, amused when Ryosuke was practically standing up in his seat so he could get it to the furthest edge of the table.  
  
For his own part, Ryosuke was fairly oblivious at this point to how others were behaving or their interest in his own behavior, as he was too overwhelmed by the number of scents on the table that were so close to Yuri.  
  
“Inoo-chan,” he vaguely heard Yuri speak next to him, as he shifted in his seat to reach the bowl of noodles so he could pick it up and move it to the other side of the table with the seasoning, Yuri’s voice seemingly louder than normal, “Can I use your napkin please?”  
  
All of the noise in the room seemed to float softly against Ryosuke’s ear, a high pitched, loud squealing taking the place where Yuri’s voice had been, and his eyes moved to where Kei was now reaching across the table to hand Yuri his napkin.  
  
 _A napkin he used._  
  
 _A napkin that has his saliva on it._  
  
Ryosuke could smell it all over the napkin as it moved closer, his focus moving in and out of clarity, and then he was in motion, leaning forward to snatch the napkin out of Kei’s hand before Yuri could take it from him.  
  
Without thinking, his entire form was vibrating, all of his energy seemed to amass into his fingertips as he frantically, maniacally shredded the napkin. Bits and pieces flew into the air, littering the table and the floor as he decimated the paper until it was nothing more than tiny bits of confetti all around him.  
  
As he dropped the last of the napkin into his lap he smiled, feeling a deep rooted satisfaction at having stopped Yuri from touching that napkin.  
  
“Ryosuke?”  
  
“Hmm?” he turned to look at Yuri next to him, his eyes wide in utter and complete innocence as he tilted his head at Yuri’s concerned expression.  
  
“What are you doing?”  
  
“Huh?” Ryosuke stopped for a moment, glancing down at his lap and the plate in front of him, not exactly sure what he’d done, and then he glanced up at the other members in various states of disbelief, worry, and forthright curiosity at the strange display Ryosuke had given them.  
  
“I...umm...” Ryosuke struggled to come up with an explanation for his behavior, his cheeks turning pink in his embarrassment, his eyes moving back to Yuri who had an expression of compassion now, his arm reaching out so he could rest his hand on Ryosuke’s back, patting him softly.  
  
His voice was so gentle, so tender when he spoke, “I wasn’t going to use that napkin.”  
  
Ryosuke felt like he was exposed, like the entire world could see what he’d felt, what he’d thought and he wished it would swallow him whole, but when he chanced a glance up at the others they didn’t have the same expressions as before, instead, they all seemed to somehow be understanding, to be in the moment with him, his discomfort their own.  
  
Even Kei’s expression was soft, his eyes expressive as he nodded his head, then shrugged, “I was just messing with you.”  
  
“I—I knew that...of course...I knew that,” Ryosuke couldn't find words to explain the situation and then he sort of felt like he didn't have to, when Yuri moved slowly, his movement precise as he used the napkin Ryosuke had given him to push the last remaining bowl of food that the others had most certainly touched across the table toward the other members.  
  
“I want ice cream,” Yuri announced, intent on diverting attention away from Ryosuke...but Ryosuke was staring at the bowl Yuri had moved, his eyes going in and out of focus.  
  
“Ice cream?” Yuri repeated, bumping Ryosuke with his shoulder.  
  
Ryosuke blinked rapidly as he jerked to the side, brought out of his thoughts by the movement, “You...you just...”  
  
“Shh,” Yuri shook his head, the slightest way, then smiled, “I understand now.”  
  
He paused for a moment, watching Ryosuke’s expression carefully, pleased when he saw the moment he truly comprehended what he had said, what he was trying to tell him, and when he knew he had, he grabbed his hand under the table, “Go get me some ice cream now?”  
  
“Yeah,” Ryosuke nodded, his affection blossoming in his chest, because he knew then, he knew that even though he didn’t remotely understand what was going on or what any of this meant—somehow, it didn’t really matter if he did or didn’t—because Yuri made sense...and he understood—and maybe that’s all he really needed.  
  
All he might ever need.  
  
For him to understand.  
  
And Yuri most certainly did.

* * *


	7. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His heart clenched in his chest when Yuri’s hands moved, grabbing onto his shirt like he was afraid he was going to move away, desperation flowing in the connection between them, his body shaking in his arms as he spoke softly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take it…I just…I don’t really know why I did…I’m…I’m really sorry.”
> 
> “It’s fine, Yuri, honestly, I wasn’t even going to take it from you, I just…I was surprised is all, if you wanted one, I could get you one, you know?”
> 
> “No, it’s not that, though…it’s not…”
> 
> Yuri pushed into Ryosuke further, almost as if he were trying to hide from him as he spoke, “I don’t want one of my own.”
> 
> “But…you have…mine…”
> 
> “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far: (refer to this section at the start of each chapter for recaps of the chapter before)
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Ryosuke:  
> -struggles with the innate desire to 'possess' Yuri  
> -is in fact, a somewhat 'possessive' freak lol (not in an abusive way to be clear)
> 
> Yuri:  
> -appreciated Ryosuke running off the other Alpha
> 
> ABO--
> 
> Alphas:  
> -can recognize other Alphas once their trait has been activated  
> -stink worse that anything to other Alphas
> 
> Omegas:  
> -smell GREAT to Alphas
> 
> Betas:  
> -smell good to Alphas
> 
> Super-Hybrids:  
> -have no desire for any other Alpha/Omega apart from the one gifted to them in their soul-bond  
> -Omega Super-Hybrids are subject to their scent being 'tainted' by other ABO's

* * *

Daiki rushed into the room heading for the shower--the air stirring around them as he brushed past them carrying a horrible strong, pungent smell into the room.  
  
Ryosuke who had been standing at the mirror blinked, jerking his head back at the odor.  
  
"Sorry, I know the smell is horrible," Daiki rushing to speak, waving his hands, causing Ryosuke to lift his hand to cover his nose.  
  
"What is that!?“  
  
Daiki paused, frowning, “Listen, just look out for Kei.“  
  
"Hmm?" Ryosuke was unsure of what he was referring to.  
  
"The smell, he's spraying everyone with it--it's one of those 'create your own scent' perfumes he made at some shop downtown--I don't even know how they let him buy it...it's the most disgusting smell I've ever smelled in my life!“  
  
"It's like the smell of sulfer from the burning pits of hell," Ryosuke commented as he pulled his hoodie on.  
  
Daiki stared at him, "You feel...strongly about that obviously," he laughed then, "I mean...it's nasty I think...but...it's not that bad?“  
  
"It is," Ryosuke grimaced, needing to get out of that room, away from that smell, "It's the worst thing I've ever smelled.“  
  
Daiki pulled his arm up to smell the spot where Kei had sprayed him, shrugging, "I mean, I don't like it... but...but it's not that bad...“  
  
"It is the WORST SMELL IN THE WORLD!" Keito bellowed, storming through the doorway, shoving Daiki out of the way so he could walk directly into the shower he had been going into without even removing his clothes, the door slamming loudly as he raged about the perfume Kei had sprayed him with.  
  
Ryosuke and Daiki both stood with their mouths open staring at the door that Keito had disappeared behind, shocked, because Keito never freaked out about anything or ever got worked up, but he definitely was now.  
  
"I swear to all things good and holy I am going to kill him if he comes near me with that cursed scent again!“  
  
Ryosuke's eyebrow raised, glad he wasn't the only one who thought that the perfume had been procured directly from the inner circle of hell—and equally amused that Keito was now throwing his clothes over the top of the door, screeching, "I'll have to burn all of those! That smell will never come out!“  
  
Daiki was still standing where he'd been shoved, dumbfounded by all of the events that were happening, slapping away the pants that flew over the door, his eyes catching Hikaru's when he opened the stall door next to Keito's, stepping out with a towel wrapped around his waist, eyes filled with amusement.  
  
"I think there's a gas leak or something and everyone's slowly being poisoned or something--Yama-chan and Chinen are sniffing each other all the time like...weird ass freaks, not gonna lie and then here's Keito..." he banged the door where Keito was, laughing when he just got louder with his ranting, "...who is clearly losing his mind...and you...“  
  
Hikaru leaned close to Daiki, sniffing him gingerly, "You smell like that assinine perfume, and something else, something...foul.“  
  
"I--I--I most certainly do not!" Daiki screeched, shoving Hikaru, "I just smell like that perfume Kei is spraying, nothing else...“  
  
"No," Hikaru frowned, "There's something else and it's bad...really bad.“  
  
“Are you using a new laundry detergent?” Ryosuke asked absently.  
  
“Or hair product, it could be hairspray maybe? Anything like that?” Hikaru asked quickly.  
  
“What about skincare products?” Ryosuke tilted his head, “Any new products like that?”  
  
“No! I mean, I don’t even need anything for that, and whatever you think—frankly, this is all your fault,” Daiki snipped at Hikaru, who seemed surprised, “Kei was so proud of the malodorous concoction he created specifically because he said it smelled like you!”  
  
“Huh,” Hikaru looked mildly amused, slightly confused, and then shrugged, “I won’t be able to smell my own scent—Omega’s can’t—not equipped with the proper glands...but...damn...I’m sorry if that’s what I actually smell like.”  
  
Ryosuke and Daiki both stared at him, his brows raising as he shrugged, “Do I really stink?”  
  
Ryosuke hummed softly, “You do smell bad, different than you did before your mark, now...Kei’s scent has merged your fragrance with his, which creates something that other Alphas will recognize immediately and tell them who the Omega is bonded to. It is pretty bad, how gross the smell can be, because like...Kei reeks to high heaven, and now you do just on a weird messier level.”  
  
“But...” Hikaru looked to be doing his best to piece this together, “Then how does he even stand to be around me if I smell that badly?”  
  
“You don’t smell bad to him, not at all,” Ryosuke reassured him, “In fact, with your Alpha you will smell amazingly good—if you don’t smell good, I can't imagine they'd even show interest in you.”  
  
“Huh,” Hikaru nodded in understanding.  
  
A beat happened, and it was like Ryosuke could see the wheels in Hikaru’s head turning, wanting to slap him for going there, because he knew he’d pieced together the scent factors with the fact that Yuri’s fragrance had not changed.  
  
“Ohhh, hoohooohhooo,” Hikaru was laughing like he’d just thought of the funniest thing in the world, wagging his eyebrows up and down, “I know the answer to my question now...”  
  
Ryosuke didn’t like the change in his tone, not a bit, his eyes narrowing, “What do you mean?”  
  
“If you two were...you know...” He raised and lowered his eyebrows for good measure.  
  
Ryosuke wanted to punch him because it wasn’t like he didn’t think about it or care about it and to just point it out this way without an explanation was rude and obnoxious but there really was nothing he could do.  
  
“Do what...what?” Daiki asked, looking back and forth between the two.  
  
"Shut up," Ryosuke snapped, turning to leave.  
  
“I’m just saying, Yuri smells really nicely these days, doesn’t he?” Hikaru called after him.  
  
“What...what does that mean? What were they doing?” Daiki was so confused, throwing his hands up in the air, looking between the two, “Frankly, I am glad to be a Beta, all of this is entirely too complicated.”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Ryosuke was passing by Yuri’s room, glancing to the side as he passed the open door, then backing up to look into the room, tilting his head in confusion, because… _is that?_

He walked into the room, “Yuri?”  
  
He glanced around, realizing Yuri wasn’t there, walking slowly over to the bed, eyes wide as he ran his fingers across the hoodie that was draped on top of his pillow.  
  
 _My Fullmetal Alchemist hoodie….what…what in the world is it doing in here?_  
  
“Oh! I didn’t know you whe—”  
  
Ryosuke jumped, jerking around to face Yuri who had just walked into the room, his words fading as his eyes moved to land on the hoodie covered pillow that Ryosuke was currently touching.  
  
“I…I didn’t…” Yuri’s hands lifted, as he began to wring them together in nervousness, “I mean, it’s not that I meant to…I just…and then…”  
  
“Yuri,” Ryosuke moved slowly, approaching him cautiously, not caring about the hoodie so much as he was worried about Yuri, “What’s…what’s going on?”  
  
“Nothing,” Yuri’s voice cracked as he rushed past Ryosuke to the bed, grabbing the hoodie off of the pillow and then holding it out to him, “I don’t know, okay…just…here, take it, I’m sorry, I just…please…just take it.”  
  
Ryosuke was so confused, his emotions were all over the place and all he wanted to do was hug Yuri.  
  
He just needed to touch him.  
  
To help him.  
  
To heal him.  
  
So, he did.  
  
He moved in a flash over to him, grabbing him into a hug before he could stop him or tell him why he shouldn’t or dart away or any number of possible scenarios that would have been something Yuri would certainly do in his frustration.  
  
He partly expected him to push him away, sighing, his eyes fluttering closed in contentment when he felt him nestle into his embrace instead of drawing away. His hand lifted to press into his hair, holding his head there against him, his face buried into the hoodie he’d drawn up between them, and then Ryosuke froze, because Yuri inhaled.  
  
Not just a normal breath, but a deep, long inhale, and his body became even softer within his arms.  
  
Ryosuke began to tremble, his arms squeezing Yuri even tighter as he turned his head, pressing his nose against his hair and slowly inhaling, his skin feeling like it was on fire, every nerve ending tingling to life, and for a moment, for just a moment it felt like too much—almost painful to him, and he pressed his nose further into Yuri’s hair, seeking relief, and then as quickly as the overwhelming feeling had come, he felt a softness, a tenderness nipping gently at the edges of his mind, his heart feeling as if it were growing, trying to spread out further in his chest, and he let it, he relished it, pressing further against Yuri, holding him as tightly as he could, feeling like he was where he belonged, where he was always meant to be.  
  
His heart clenched in his chest when Yuri’s hands moved, grabbing onto his shirt like he was afraid he was going to move away, desperation flowing in the connection between them, his body shaking in his arms as he spoke softly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take it…I just…I don’t really know why I did…I’m…I’m really sorry.”  
  
“It’s fine, Yuri, honestly, I wasn’t even going to take it from you, I just…I was surprised is all, if you wanted one, I could get you one, you know?”  
  
“No, it’s not that, though…it’s not…”  
  
Yuri pushed into Ryosuke further, almost as if he were trying to hide from him as he spoke, “I don’t want one of my own.”  
  
“But…you have…mine…”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Ryosuke’s mind was whirling trying to put together what Yuri was trying to explain to him, his eyes popping wide open when he managed to piece together the situation and the things Yuri was saying, “You…you want mine.”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“I…I see,” Ryosuke tried to calm his heart down, positive that Yuri could feel it beating wildly in his chest but there was nothing he could do to stop it, even if he really wanted to, “Then…it’s alright, you can have it.”  
  
Yuri made a small noise against his chest, shaking his head, and Ryosuke couldn’t help but laugh, because he was never shy, never bashful, but here he was hiding from him, over a hoodie, “I want you to have it.”  
  
Yuri went limp against him, the will to fight draining from him as he pressed his face against the soft fleece of the hoodie, inhaling again the scent that seemed to be a part of the fabric itself.  
  
“Thank you,” the words were muffled against the fabric, and Ryosuke could hear the smile in them even so, unable to keep from smiling himself, because he didn’t really understand why Yuri wanted the hoodie, but…somehow, he knew he’d give him anything at all if it made him happy.  
  
A hoodie was the least of what Yuri could ask for all things considered, even if it was one of his favorite memorabilia from his movies, it hardly mattered at all if it meant making Yuri happy.  
  


* * *

  
  
They were all more than a little tired, the tour was on the last leg, and all of them were looking forward to some down time. They’d arrived early, setting up the game consoles and spent the afternoon challenging each other to battles.  
  
It was fun, and more than what Ryosuke most certainly needed at this point. He was taking a break, laying across the couch, his feet pushed into Yuri’s legs as he closed his eyes, sighing in contentment.  
  
He could have fallen asleep, if not for the weird movement that Yuri was currently doing—when Ryosuke opened his eyes to look down at him, it was obvious that he was not even aware he was bobbing his legs up and down, the motion shaking the entire couch.  
  
“Yuri,” Ryosuke said his name lazily, still feeling the fog of sleep over himself, pushing against his legs harder to get his attention since he had earbuds in.  
  
When he pulled one out and tilted his head, Ryosuke pointed to his legs that were still moving, insisting, “Stop that.”  
  
Yuri’s legs instantly stilled, his eyes widening as he looked at Ryosuke and then back to his own legs.  
  
Ryosuke lifted up on his elbows, getting a better look at him, trying to decipher the change in the atmosphere. Yuri stared at him for a moment longer, slowly lifting the earbud to push it back in, glancing around the room before he focused back onto the game he’d been watching.  
  
“Tell him to go over there,” Hikaru whispered from the seat next to Ryosuke’s head, causing him to startle, jumping to the side as he reached out to smack his leg.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Tell him to go over there, to the catering table...”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Just do it,” Hikaru rolled his hand, encouraging Ryosuke to listen to him.  
  
He wasn’t sure he should do whatever it was Hikaru was suggesting, it felt a little bit like most of Hikaru’s suggestions were just him messing with them on a general basis, and more often than not ended up with Yuri mad at him, at Hikaru, or unfortunately most of the time, both of them.  
  
“Do it...” Hikaru nudged him with his fingertips.  
  
Ryosuke sighed, already regretting his choice to listen to Hikaru, pushing against Yuri’s legs to get his attention again.  
  
Yuri huffed, irritated at being interrupted again when Yuto had just made it to one of the really challenging parts, his eyes wide, “What?”  
  
“Go over there to the catering table.”  
  
Yuri glanced over to the table, then back at Ryosuke, “Why?”  
  
At this, Ryosuke jerked his head to look at Hikaru, needing to know why he was even asking him to do this in the first place. Hikaru rolled his eyes, “You didn’t remotely mean it.”  
  
“I didn’t mean what?”  
  
“You don’t actually care if he goes over there or not—you have to mean it...say it like you mean it.”  
  
“I don’t really care about him go—“  
  
“Yama-chan, for the love of God, just do it...”  
  
“You idiot, why don't you ask him to go if you're so keen on it?”  
  
“It won’t work if I do it—it has to be you.”  
  
Ryosuke looked back down the couch at Yuri who had just about lost even the last bit of his patience, “What in the world are you two on about?”  
  
“Go over to the catering table,” Ryosuke repeated, but this time he meant it as an order, as a direct demand.  
  
Yuri rolled his eyes, but then he was in motion, shoving Ryosuke’s legs off of his lap, and then moving quickly across the room to the table where he stood, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, “Okay!”  
  
Ryosuke couldn’t think straight, couldn’t make sense of it, his eyes snapping to Hikaru’s who was staring at Yuri with his mouth open, shock clear in his expression.

“Tell him to eat one of those cookies.”  
  
“He doesn’t like those cookies though...” Ryosuke mumbled, shaking his head slowly.  
  
“That’s how to tell, isn’t it?”  
  
Ryosuke understood what he meant but he was already feeling completely uncomfortable with all of this, and unsure of what was really taking place at this point, but he was curious, so he focused on Yuri, “Yuri, eat one of those cookies.”  
  
Yuri frowned, his torso twisting as he looked at the cookies on the table, “I don’t even like them though, they’re gross...”  
  
“Eat that cookie,” Ryosuke snapped.  
  
His heart dropped into his tummy, his fingers clenching into fists as he watched, horrified when Yuri’s hand reached out to pick up one of the cookies, his arm shaking as he lifted it to his mouth to eat it.  
  
“Yuri! STOP!” Ryosuke bolted up off the couch, rushing across the room to slap the cookie out of his hand, mortified by what had just happened, grabbing Yuri into his arms, frantically touching him to hold him closely, “I’m so sorry, oh my God, Yuri, I’m so sorry!”  
  
Yuri melted against him, sighing softly into his chest, “Don’t do that again.”  
  
“I swear I won’t,” Ryosuke insisted, pressing a soft kiss against his temple, “I won’t...never again.”  
  
“You promise?” Yuri whispered, his fingers grabbing onto Ryosuke’s shirt.  
  
“I promise.”  
  


* * *

  
  
They should have seen it coming, they really should have, but they most definitely did NOT see it—so when they were on the talk show and they were filling up the screen with an array of complaints about “Yamachii” both of the boys were in near panic mode. If they weren’t such seasoned professionals, they might have had a meltdown right there on screen.  
  
Instead, they both laughed nervously, a strange vibration of energy passing between them as the hosts brought up the fact that there were concerns about the “Yamachii” relationship.  
  
Ryosuke felt like someone had put their fingers around his throat, grasping him tightly so that he could not move or take a proper breath, his eyes cutting over to look at Yuri who was obviously worse off than him.  
  
Behind him he could feel Yuya’s energy, a weird combination of peaceful assurance, and vague panic. Ryosuke rolled his eyes, wishing he better understood these concepts so he could tell Yuya to focus, this was big and they needed to handle it properly for the sake of all of their careers.  
  
Ryosuke wanted to kick someone, hard, when the first ‘revelation’ popped up on the screen.  
  
“They often kiss on the lips and hold each others hands...”  
  
Alright, alright, so...this wasn’t true, it really wasn’t because neither one were stupid, and they wouldn’t actually kiss each other in concert in front of the camera.  
  
And, factually speaking they hadn’t kissed anyway, not at all, not that either of them didn't think about it an extraordinary number of minutes in a day, nor that they weren't borderline obsessed with the very notion of the 'perfect' kiss between them, but rather, it was because...well, as far as they were concerned, it was simple to be whatever this whole Alpha/Omega thing was, and maybe it was more than that, involving some ancient weird ass magic, but navigating a romantic relationship while trying to figure out who you were while under the influence of that self-same weird ass magic?

Well, suffice to say, labeling it 'it's complicated' is far too simplistic. 

So, they were moving slowly in all aspects of their relationship--mostly out of the need to be sure they were making the choices and none were being usurped from them by the link between them. For Ryosuke, it wasn't that hard to see and understand the dynamics per say, but he sensed a lot of conflict in Yuri over it sometimes, and out of respect and care for him--he'd become determined to be as supportive as possible of Yuri being the one to move forward and take initiative.

The interesting thing was, in truth, a lot of things hadn't exactly changed...it wasn't like they had strict boundaries or normal friendship behavior before they had decided to become a couple--in fact, it was like their bodies and minds knew before their own hearts did--so in many ways, it didn't feel like a very dramatic change to either of them to go from friends to a couple at all. 

Of course, there were plenty of times Ryosuke liked to pretend he would have surely moved forward with their relationship sooner but Yuri had never given a single indication he would be receptive to his attention in a romantic way.  
  
 _Oh, just shut the hell up with that nonsense._  
  
He couldn’t even kid himself about this, the truth was, Yuri had been more than clear, practically from the first day they'd met and he called him 'Yama-chan', that he felt a deep rooted affection for Ryosuke, and while Ryosuke didn’t consider himself the smartest guy in the world, he was in tune enough to recognize that Yuri held romantic feelings for him.

Ryosuke had felt much the same, of course, and though it had taken time for them to force their own stupid hangups out of the way of their relationship--plus, it was a strange thing to wonder about how much their traits influenced their thoughts and ideas about things--he wanted Yuri to want to be with him, to kiss him, touch him, because he wanted to, because it was his own desire--not a compelling need that he didn't actually have an emotional connection to.

It was hard for Ryosuke to advise Yuri about his Omega trait...even a little bit, because it was so foreign to him. The Alpha trait was so ingrained in him, such a part of his being, that it seemed like it was just who he was from the very start, not actually 'activated'--but it felt somehow different for Yuri. Sometimes, Ryosuke felt sure it was just because Yuri was afraid of the implications of what it would mean to be both a being of complete free will who was also moved through the spinning circles of life on a path set forth by destiny. It was a simple picture to Ryosuke of what that meant, and how it looked to him, but he had never been able to articulate it in a way that would give Yuri the confidence that they were who they were and they were in charge of their own lives even if fate had woven threads within their story's tapestry.

So...sadly, they had not yet kissed.

They were waiting--for what?

Neither of them could really say, but they felt sure that they'd know it when it had, in fact, happened. 

Which made Ryosuke's cheeks flame up in frustration that they were implying the two of them were out there randomly kissing all the time when in fact, he'd honestly love nothing more than to just say, "Hell ya, wouldn't you kiss his perfectly pink, delightfully soft, plump pouty lips all the time too?" but instead would have to state the clear and concise truth, "That's a lie."

And even if they had kissed, if they were kissing every day, fifty times a day, it would be none of their business at any rate, and the entire situation offended his sensibilities.  
  
Of course, thankfully, Yuri had the sense to point out that it certainly wasn’t on the lips, cause who the hell knew if they were going to be dragging out some obscure fan-cam or papa pic of one of the rare times they got a little carried away?  
  
Best to cover their bases, so he was glad when Yuri played off his lead.  
  
 _One down._  
  
Then the second one popped up.  
  
“They have ‘couples’ rings.”  
  
 _Well, yeah?_  
  
This felt a little anticlimactic to be honest, sort of a let down, cause the thing is, they’d never even made a secret about the rings.  
  
Ryosuke had bought them and they wore them and they were important and vital and meaningful and lovely and represented how much they cared for each other, their commitment to one another, and they had chosen them together, pleased in knowing it was far too trivial of a gesture for fate to have even given a single blink to it--so it affirmed they were the ones making the promises to each other.

The rings were sacred, and he’d personally kick anyone’s ass who said otherwise.  
  
“Yes, we do have rings—it’s common among friends...”  
  
“But you wear them on your pinkie—that means lover!”  
  
 _Oh, hell no you did not._  
  
“Now, that really is going too far,” Ryosuke snapped, knowing his tone was disrespectful and he meant it to be, he could feel the hair on the back of his neck standing up out of the desire to stop this whole thing before they actually hurt Yuri.  
  
Finally, the third--  
  
“They recognize each other by scent.”  
  
 _Well, fuck._  
  
Ryosuke wanted to just throw his arms up in the air and just reveal the whole sordid truth because he wasn’t sure who told who what when but this was all beyond incriminating and to be perfectly honest, he felt attacked by the host and the program and felt the innate need to protect Yuri from these vipers.  
  
 _How dare they._  
  
They could bring Ryosuke onto their show and do whatever they wanted, God knows they have—but to involve Yuri?  
  
 _For what?_  
  
 _Ratings?_  
  
 _Entertainment?_  
  
 _Please, that’s the worst of all if it’s just for entertainment value, it’s even more offensive._  
  
His mind was focused on Yuri though, his heart reaching out to him, knowing he was undoubtedly having a mini-heart attack even as Ryosuke was plotting revenge on everyone in that studio along with all of their relatives, pets, and maybe even their children’s children if he had anything to say about it.  
  
If he found out who gave them this information, he was going to hurt someone. Maybe go to jail—at the very least probably lose his job.  
  
 _It would be SO worth it._  
  
Ryosuke clenched his fists because he didn’t remember the last five minutes, pretty sure he blacked out or something to get through the insane explanation of why they could tell each other by their scent, and all he could think was ‘thank God for Yuri’ because he really stepped up and delivered when Ryosuke couldn’t think of any response that wouldn’t be like...  
  
 _“Well, Karen, I realize this doesn’t rank as real news to you since it’s not common knowledge anymore—but, please, educate yourself. Our ancestors were these hybrid humans with crazy sensory perception and all of this really bizarre stuff that we just can’t get into on national television, and even though all of you want to pretend it’s not real, it is—so, but suffice to say, I can smell Yuri from two miles away and well, to be perfectly blunt, his scent is the most perfect thing in the universe and I could live off of it alone...was there anything else you wanted to know about us? Since we’re here and you’re so actively violating our privacy and all that...No? Okay then...see you next time.”_  
  
No, it was good that Yuri had answered with some inane jabber about colognes and lingering scents and whatever else he’d said, and all Ryosuke could think was Yuya hasn’t said a word the whole time.  
  
Then they asked him what Jump thought about this and if Ryosuke hadn’t already had an out of body experience through his multiple deaths while being filmed on this program, this would have sent him, cause they did NOT need to talk about what Jump thought about him and Yuri.  
  
 _At all._  
  
He held his breath, hoping with his whole heart that Yuya had been given enough time to formulate a response to any question they’d thrown their way, and then when he answered, Ryosuke felt so happy—because that was simple, wasn’t it?  
  
“Yeah, we acknowledge this,” Yuya laughed softly from behind him.  
  
 _And it’s true...they do acknowledge it—they support us, and well..._  
  
 _“Karen, we’re all a little twisted right, and Yuri and I are not the only ones, though we are certainly the most progressed out of all of the people we have met with this issue.”_  
  
 _Nah, better they just think he means “Yah, Yamachii, little freaks the both of them” rather than the truth._

* * *

Ryosuke arrived last to the dressing room—having filmed his latest Lachesca commercial that afternoon—he was exhausted, and tired and a little cranky, but his mood was about to change.

The moment he saw Daiki, he moved across the space that separated them, inhaling deeply of his scent, crowing loudly in his ear, “I KNEW IT!”

Daiki shrugged his shoulders, covering his ears, looking at Ryosuke like he was crazy, in fact, pretty much everyone was looking at him that way except for Yuri who regarded him with a sense of amusement as he tested their connection.

“I want to know the secret of your beautiful, young looking complexion,” Ryosuke asked in the most sincere voice he could, “...because I think all of us, as idols, can use every single tip possible for keeping our skin in the best, healthiest, most youthful condition!”

Ryosuke threw himself down into a chair in front of Daiki, gesturing to him now that he was the only person standing, “Go ahead, Dai-chan, the room is yours, please, share your skin care routine so we can all learn from you.”

“I—I don’t understand...I don’t...I mean I don’t use anything special, my skin is just naturally hydra—“

“EEEEEEEHHHHHHHNNNNNNTTTTT,” Ryosuke mimicked the sound of a buzzer—loud and annoying causing Daiki to jump, rolling his hand at him, “Go on, try again.”

“I—I just wash my face with normal wat—“

“EEEEEEEHHHHHHHNNNNNNTTTTT!”

“Will you please sto—“

“EEEEEEEHHHHHHHNNNNNNTTTTT!”

“Seriously, yo—”

“EEEEEEEHHHHHHHNNNNNNTTTTT!”

“Ryos—”

“EEEEEEEHHHHHHHNNNNNNTTTTT!”

“For the love of all things good and holy what in the world is happening here?!” Kei spoke up, having watched the scene with amusement and then irritation.

“He’s a liar, liar pants on fire,” Ryosuke taunted, looking over at Kei, “I know what the smell is.”

Daiki went impossibly pale his eyes widening before he managed to school them.

“Ohhhh,” Ryosuke smiled, but it was perfectly evil, obviously something he picked up from one of his less sane character portrayals like Semi or something, “Noooow you see.”

Daiki nodded his head once.

“Shall I tell them or will you be doing the honors?”

Daiki tilted his head down, gesturing for Ryosuke to go ahead. 

Ryosuke smiled, standing to put his arm around Daiki, pulling him into a side hug, “Our boy who has spent the last God knows how many years touting the natural beauty of his skin, who has repeatedly told all of us along with any magazine, talk show, or fan that would listen that he had flawless skin based on his good genetics, eating habits, and ‘fresh happy attitude’—has been holding out on us all along.”

The room erupted in chatter, everyone freaking out about the idea that Daiki lied to them about this, after all, they all shared ‘trade’ secrets regularly—but Ryosuke didn’t let them get too carried away, “He uses Lachesca products.”

Everyone stopped talking weighing this information, then Daiki nodded, “I do.”

“Apparently, he uses _a lot_ of them, _simultaneously_ ,” Ryosuke added, “Like, it takes a really potent cocktail of their products to produce the level of noxious scented fumes that would tamper with your natural aroma to this point.”

“I just want my skin to look nice!” Daiki defended himself, “...and I didn’t tell you guys cause I didn’t want you to think it was stupid.”

“It is stupid,” Ryosuke snapped, “Not for the reason you think, I’ll give you the number to my dermatologist—let them take care of you, stop using the stuff you’re using, I swear it has to be destroying your chemical makeup bit by bit to produce such a horrible smell.”

“We endorse that product,” Daiki commented, and everyone paused considering this information.

“We do,” Ryosuke agreed, “However, no one I know uses fifteen of them a day—no one but you, and apparently the girl I met on set for my commercial today who incredibly had the same bizarre underlying scent as you.”

“Huh,” Daiki tilted his head, wrapping his arm around Ryosuke’s shoulder in return, “Maybe you should introduce us, sounds like we already have a lot in common!”

They all laughed at that, and Ryosuke told him he’d think about sharing her contact information if Daiki would go to his dermatologist. 

* * *


	8. Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yuri!” Ryosuke snapped, moving quickly across the room, taking in the absolute disarray that was Yuri’s normally clean and tidy room—it looked like a bomb had went off in the room—twice…maybe even three times, he couldn’t be sure, his hands gesturing to the room around them, “What the hell are you doing right now!?”
> 
> Yuri’s mouth opened and closed, trying to form words but they were failing, him, he had no idea how to explain how he had moved from one moment to another for the last thirty minutes, just knowing he had and he couldn’t explain it.
> 
> Ryosuke was five seconds from losing it entirely, “Do you have any idea what time it is!?”
> 
> Yuri hummed softly, pushing gently against the wall but stopping when the feet of the dresser made a squeaking sound and Ryosuke’s eyes narrowed.
> 
> “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Ryosuke demanded.
> 
> “FIXING IT!!!!!!!!!!!” Yuri bellowed violently, immediately biting his lip as he cast his eyes to the ground between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far: (refer to this section at the start of each chapter for recaps of the chapter before)
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Ryosuke:  
> -can make Yuri do whatever he wants to do  
> -thinks that power is horrible and promises to not use it
> 
> Yuri:  
> -took Ryosuke's FMA hoodie and used it as a pillow on compulsion  
> -is subsceptible to being controlled by his Alpha
> 
> Kei:  
> -has marked Hikaru, thus making his scent change to being horrible to other Alphas
> 
> Hikaru:  
> -has been marked by Kei and his scent has changed accordingly
> 
> ABO--
> 
> Alphas:  
> -can find synthetically created perfumes, if designed with the exacting properties that make up the base chemical composition of their marked Omega's scent to be HORRIFICALLY foul, more foul than the odor from the Omega themselves  
> -can use their Alpha power to make Omegas (and some Betas) to do their wishes
> 
> Omegas:  
> -can not smell their own scent  
> -can smell other's scents, including the difference after being marked, though it does not smell bad to them at all, just different  
> -lack any power to disobey against what their Alpha does using their Alpha powers to order them around

* * *

“Can I talk to you?” Hikaru asked as he stepped into the dressing room, looking around to be sure no one else was there but him and Ryosuke.  
  
“Sure,” Ryosuke dropped his phone onto his lap, not having anything he was more concerned about in the world if the group needed him.  
  
“So,” Hikaru swiped his hands on the front of his pants, clearly nervous, “I know I might be overstepping or...something but...I just...I feel like I should discuss some things with you.”  
  
Ryosuke was confused, since this was obviously not concerning something Jump related, but he was always open to the members, nodding his head as he gestured for him to sit down next in the seat across from him.  
  
Hikaru plopped down into the seat, wringing his hands, “Okay, okay,” he took a deep breath, then laughed nervously, “You intimidate the hell out of me, you know?”  
  
“What?” Ryosuke was surprised by this, shaking his head, “I don’t me—“  
  
“It’s an Alpha Omega thing...” Hikaru explained, “I didn’t ever feel this before, but now, it’s there, it makes me nervous, but I know you and I know we can talk so I’m pushing through it for you.”  
  
“Thank you,” Ryosuke nodded, sincerely appreciative that Hikaru was so willing to work through whatever discomfort he felt, “I promise there’s nothing to worry about.”  
  
“I know that logically,” Hikaru pointed to his head, “...but the rest of me sorta has it’s own mind about these things.”  
  
They both laughed, fully understanding.  
  
“So,” Hikaru took a deep breath, “I wanted to sort of tell you some things that I think might help you with Yuri.”  
  
This was not something Ryosuke was expecting—advice or whatever was about to be offered in reference to his relationship with Yuri, his interest was certainly piqued.  
  
“So, as an Omega, I have sort of moved pretty quickly through the transition since the trait activated—maybe it’s an age thing or something, it’s hard to say—but I’ve already experienced some things that I felt like...it would be good for you to know so you can help Yuri the right way through it.”  
  
“Alright,” Ryosuke sat forward, wanting nothing more than to know anything that could help Yuri.  
  
“He’s soft,” Hikaru blurted the words out, “Yuri acts bold but he’s soft,” he laughed, “Of course, no one knows that better than you—you two have that really wild extra sensory thing right? So you know?”  
  
“Yeah, I know,” Ryosuke confirmed, “I know everything.”  
  
“Well, you might think you do, but that’s part of what I wanted to tell you,” Hikaru took another deep breath, “Even with the sensory help, Yuri can lie about what he’s feeling and fool you.”  
  
“What? What do you mean?” Ryosuke didn’t really believe that was possible, he had a direct connection to Yuri, he could sense his feelings, even the smallest adjustments, there’s no way Yuri could mislead him.  
  
“It isn’t usually on purpose,” Hikaru’s hands shot up, concerned Ryosuke might take this the wrong way, “It’s a protective thing, like to keep himself safe, or honestly, it’s more likely to keep you safe—he would do anything to keep you away from harm, and that includes misleading you if it’s necessary. Of course, that goes both ways I suppose...”  
  
Ryosuke thought about how much he loved Yuri, and the fact he refused to let him see even the smallest hint of it, and he understood, nodding his head sharply.  
  
“So, just keep in mind that he can mislead you, don’t trust the bond all of the time, or you’ll become lazy and miss things—you need to pay attention to him and discover the truth on your own.”  
  
Ryosuke pondered these words, tilting his head when Hikaru continued, “I’m sorry if it’s too forward...”  
  
Ryosuke waved him off, thankful for practical advice that he wouldn’t get anywhere else, “Don’t think that—it really means a ton to me. Thank you.”  
  
“Good, good,” Hikaru stood up to leave, but turned to look back at him, “It’s hard, the figuring out what’s my mind, my real thoughts, and what I really want through the trait’s filters—and there are some parts I just can’t control—things that are sort of a part of me now—and it would be easy for Kei, as my friend and as my Alpha, to find them annoying, but if he rejects those parts of me...”  
  
Hikaru visibly shuddered at the thought running through his mind, “That would feel the same as him rejecting me. It would be devastating.”  
  
This hit Ryosuke hard, and he had to really think about what Hikaru had just revealed to him because he never wanted it to feel like he was rejecting any facet of who Yuri was, not a single one.  
  
“Like, he might touch your things, you know? And...just do things that are super confusing and make no sense, right? Wearing your pants—yeah, that’s a real thing ya know? And the last thing he needs is to feel bad about it—it’s not like he’s doing it to bug you or make you mad, so just let him wear the pants and buy yourself a new pair.”  
  
Ryosuke nodded, understanding, but Hikaru clearly wasn’t done despite his body facing the door more than Ryosuke, his voice firm, “Maybe he will sometimes act a little out of character, or he might be a little clingy sometimes, just needing extra reassurance and comfort...and he needs you to be patient, and understanding—he’s...he’s going through a lot even if you don’t see it or know it—he’s being strong for you so he can be the best he can be for you.”  
  
Hikaru was so passionate about this, so assured, that Ryosuke couldn’t help but take every word to heart, his love for Yuri and himself so clear in these words, “I want you two to be happy—so...just try to look at things through his eyes, and feel things from his perspective a little bit so you know what he’s thinking and where he’s at emotionally.  
  
“Thanks for everything, Hikka,” Ryosuke smiled as he turned to leave the room, calling back over his shoulder, “You’re welcome, when I have more good tips for you I’ll be back.”  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Ryosuke felt himself being dragged out of his dream, a sharp, grating sound interfering with the video game he was completely slaying, groaning as he tried to take hold of the dream, to stay asleep, but that noise…  
  
 _THAT NOISE._  
  
He blinked his eyes open, slapping his palms down on the bed in frustration, rolling over into his pillows as he basically pitched a mini-fit over being awakened, especially now that as he waited for the horrific noise to happen again it appeared not be happening at all.  
  
 _Maybe there really was no noise?_  
  
 _Ugh._  
  
 _My fucking psyche though._  
  
He grabbed the pillow he’d shoved to the side, burying his face into it as he curled up into a ball intent on trying to go back to sleep and maybe pick up where the dream left off.  
  
He focused on slowing his breathing down, thinking about sweet dreams of monster hunting, slowly drifting off to sleep.  
  
SCCKKKRRRREEEECCCCHHHHHKKKKKK.  
  
He bolted upright, twisting his head to figure out where the noise came from, but it immediately stopped.  
  
“What the…”  
  
He threw his legs off the bed, running his toes across the cold floor trying to find his slippers, when the noise happened again.  
  
He didn’t have time for slippers, as he darted off the bed into the hallway, standing still when the noise stopped abruptly again.  
  
He crept slowly down the hall, waiting for the noise, and then he heard it, a softer noise, followed by a series of grunts and gasps.  
  
He pressed his ear to Yuri’s door, his eyes wide as he tried make sense of what he was hearing, jerking his head back from the door when the loud grating noise sounded loud in his ear.  
  
He jerked the door open, screeching, “What the hell are you doing!?”  
  
Yuri had stopped in mid-motion, his body caught between the wall and his dresser, his feet on the edge as he had apparently been using his body weight against the wall as leverage to move the piece of furniture.  
  
He blinked rapidly like he was trying to make sense of what Ryosuke had asked him, tilting his head in confusion.  
  
“Yuri!” Ryosuke snapped, moving quickly across the room, taking in the absolute disarray that was Yuri’s normally clean and tidy room—it looked like a bomb had went off in the room—twice…maybe even three times, he couldn’t be sure, his hands gesturing to the room around them, “What the hell are you doing right now!?”  
  
Yuri’s mouth opened and closed, trying to form words but they were failing, him, he had no idea how to explain how he had moved from one moment to another for the last thirty minutes, just knowing he had and he couldn’t explain it.  
  
Ryosuke was five seconds from losing it entirely, “Do you have any idea what time it is!?”  
  
Yuri hummed softly, pushing gently against the wall but stopping when the feet of the dresser made a squeaking sound and Ryosuke’s eyes narrowed.  
  
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Ryosuke demanded.  
  
“FIXING IT!!!!!!!!!!!” Yuri bellowed violently, immediately biting his lip as he cast his eyes to the ground between them.  
  
Ryosuke was so shocked by the outburst he couldn’t formulate a response for a moment, his eyes moving across the mess again, exasperated, “Fixing WHAT exactly?”  
  
Yuri sighed like it was the most obvious thing in the world, his hands moving rapidly to point at things as he spoke, “Nothing is where it’s supposed to be, it’s wrong, everything in here is wrong, that’s not facing the right way, and that’s got to go over there but that thing is in the way and it’s just all messed up and I need to fix it, okay? I need to FIX IT!”  
  
Ryosuke tilted his head, trying to make sense of the nonsense he was saying, wondering absently if people can sleepwalk…or in this case sleep-rearrange-furniture to this degree. Sighing, he moved over to grab Yuri into his arms, to set him safely down on the ground on his feet, “Yuri, what in the world is going on with you?”  
  
When Yuri tried to look away, Ryosuke shifted until he was in his line of sight, “Seriously, what’s happening?”  
  
Yuri studied him for a moment, swallowing thickly before he spoke softly, “I mean…it’s…it’s really nothing…it’s just that…I need…I need it to be… _right_?”  
  
“ _Right_ …” Ryosuke repeated the word but it didn’t make anymore sense when he said it, “I don’t know what it means…what you mean?”  
  
“I don’t know…I just…it’s all _wrong_ and I need to… _fix it_.”  
  
Ryosuke felt all the frustration and anger from before fading as he actually took a moment to look at Yuri—to really see him—Hikaru’s words flashing through his mind.  
  
 _He needs you to be patient, and understanding—he’s...he’s going through a lot even if you don’t see it or know it—he’s being strong for you so he can be the best he can be for you._  
  
 _He needs you to be patient._  
  
 _Understanding._  
  
 _He’s being strong for you so he can be the best he can be for you._  
  
 _For me._  
  
He was frazzled, his clothes a mess, his entire being seemingly as messy as the room around him, and he felt like he needed to do something, anything to fix him…forget the room. Yuri looked so small, so timid standing there, and Ryosuke couldn’t shake the feeling that he felt…alone.  
  
That he felt…sad…like…no one in the world could understand.  
  
“I don’t understand,” Ryosuke put his finger on Yuri’s lips when he started to talk, stopping him as he continued, “I don’t understand, but I _want_ to…”  
  
Yuri’s eyes widened, mumbling under Ryosuke’s finger, but he just softly shushed him, sighing slowly, “What can I do to help?”  
  
Yuri’s hand grabbed Ryosuke’s wrist, pulling his hand away, “Really?!?”  
  
Ryosuke couldn’t help but smile at how absolutely adorable Yuri was in all of his excitement and enthusiasm and the dark, cloudy gray of his mood before seemed to dissipate, his expression shy when he looked up at Ryosuke, “Will you help me move my furniture?”  
  
“I’m assuming you mean right now?”  
  
“Yeah…” Yuri shrugged, “I mean it’s okay if you don’t wan—”  
  
Ryosuke brushed past him, situating himself on the side of the dresser where Yuri had been, gesturing for him to take the other side, “Where are we moving it?”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Ryosuke had tried so hard to fall back to sleep but it was impossible, his throat was so dry, he was absolutely parched, and there was nothing to be done for it but to go get a drink.  
  
All the way across the house.  
  
He groaned, frustrated as he flung his legs over the side of the bed, slipping his toes into his slippers.  
  
He mumbled incoherently as he shuffled across the floor, opening his door and stepping forward, his foot catching on something causing him to stumble forward, slamming into the wall as he twisted to try to make sense of what had just happened.  
  
There, on the floor, clearly having been pressed up against his door, was Yuri.  
Curled up into a tiny ball, covered up with his thin blanket, he was sleeping soundly on the floor despite Ryosuke practically kicking him just now.  
  
“What the...”  
  
Ryosuke bent down, resting his hand on Yuri’s forehead, checking to see if he had a fever or something, but he felt normal. He touched his shoulder, shaking him gently, “Yuri?”  
  
He stirred, his eyes blinking open slowly, “Hmm?”  
  
“What are you doing here on the floor?”  
  
He could tell Yuri was still half asleep, his eyes blinking slowly, staying closed longer than was natural, and Ryosuke shook him softly again, “Yuri...”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“Why are you here?”  
  
“Want to be here...” he murmured, the words slow and lazy.  
  
“On the hall floor?” Ryosuke asked, unsure if he was hearing him correctly.  
  
“Near you...”  
  
Ryosuke swallowed hard, his heart feeling like it was tripping over itself, “Near...me?”  
  
“Uhnn,” Yuri agreed, his fingers moving slowly up his arm to grab his t-shirt, “Bad dream...”  
  
“Come to bed,” Ryosuke whispered, reaching forward to twist his head a bit, try to wake him up, but Yuri wasn’t having it, complaining with various grunts and squeals as Ryosuke tried to get him to where he’d be alert enough to walk.  
  
“Fine,” Ryosuke sighed, scooching forward until he was close enough he could work his arms underneath his body, groaning as he lifted him up, “You’re not twelve anymore, and frankly, neither am I.”  
  
Yuri laughed softly against his neck as he moved into his room, shutting the door with his foot, then crossing the space to put him down on the other side of the bed.  
  
Water long forgotten, Ryosuke pulled the covers up over Yuri, watching curiously as he curled up into a ball, his face pressed into the pillow, and then, he was in motion, shuffling his body across the bed until he was on Ryosuke’s side, his arms grabbing the pillow to ball it up and then wrapped his entire body around it as he stuffed his face into the fabric and inhaled.  
  
Ryosuke wasn’t sure what he should do at this point, partially thinking he should just go sleep in Yuri’s bed and let him do...whatever...it was he was doing here.  
  
“Ryo...” Yuri’s voice was soft, though he didn’t lift his head or open his eyes, his hand moved out to pat the bed, “Come.”  
  
Ryosuke sighed, pretty sure he wouldn't be able to sleep with Yuri being so...weird.  
  
Still, he felt like he couldn’t leave at the same time, so he threw the covers back, climbing into the bed on what was clearly the wrong side, everything feeling foreign from this perspective.  
  
Whatever he thought would matter faded the moment Yuri moved, his pillow thrown over his face as he shuffled into his arms, curling around Ryosuke instead of the pillow. Ryosuke jerked the pillow down off his face, looking down at where Yuri was wrapped around him.  
  
He thought maybe this would feel weird, to have Yuri here with him, to have him hold him this way, but all he felt was peace, a smile spreading across his face as he shoved the pillow under his head and wrapped his arms around Yuri.  
  
“What was the dream about?” he had wondered for a few minutes what kind of nightmares Yuri had these days.  
  
When Yuri didn’t answer, Ryosuke lifted his head up again to look down at him, contented when he saw his face soft and serene in a peaceful sleep.  
  
“Sleep sweet,” Ryosuke whispered, pressing a tender kiss to the top of his head.

* * *

  
Ryosuke was trying to find his favorite watch, convinced that he had lost it, because as a matter of habit he didn’t really take his jewelry off anywhere except at his dresser...he growled in frustration, turning when Yuri walked into the room, eating an apple as he climbed up on the bed, “What are you doing?”  
  
“Looking for my watch,” Ryosuke shrugged, but he didn’t miss the way the aura around them flared up for a moment, his head tilting in confusion.  
  
“Oh,” Yuri nodded, clearly nervous about whatever he wanted to say, “It’s just...well...”  
  
He sighed, standing up and throwing the apple in the garbage can as he gestured for Ryosuke to follow him to his room.  
  
When they walked in, Yuri stood still for a moment and Ryosuke could sense his hesitation, speaking softly, as reassuringly as he could, “Whatever it is, I won’t be mad.”  
  
“O-Okay,” Yuri swallowed thickly before he walked over to his nightstand where there was a light pink cloth covering the surface. As he slowly drug the cloth away, drawing his hands up to his face to hide himself, an array of items placed on a large tray were revealed.  
  
Ryosuke stepped forward, recognizing all of the items—a few he had thought he’d lost, others that he didn’t even realize were missing—some of them he didn’t really understand—a penny and a small piece of paper that looked like a movie ticket...but most of the items he knew for certain were his.  
  
He glanced over at Yuri who was still hiding his face, and it just didn't matter what this was or why he had the items, he was upset and Ryosuke wanted, no, needed to fix it, stepping forward to draw him into a hug, “It’s fine, why are you worried?”  
  
“I don’t know, I just...” Yuri released as slow breath, “I didn’t mean to take them, I was going to put them back but then...I just _couldn’t_ let them go...”  
  
Ryosuke squeezed him tightly, wishing he were one of those people eloquent with words, who could most certainly say something that would comfort him, to know it was okay but he didn’t know what to say, his eyes fixated on the items on the tray over Yuri’s shoulder, and then he wondered, his arm moving slightly down to touch the edge of the tray and spun it slightly until it was facing him.  
  
His eyes widened, his heart beating wildly in his chest, because it was obvious from this angle that these items had been placed in very specific places, maybe even Yuri didn’t realize it, who knows—but there on the tray—those items created a heart with two letters inside of it—a R and a Y.  
  
 _So, just keep in mind that he can mislead you, don’t trust the bond all of the time, or you’ll become lazy and miss things—you need to pay attention to him and discover the truth on your own._  
  
Ryosuke’s thoughts whirled in his head, _could he be...could it..._  
  
He had no idea, but he decided that he was going to find out, he was going to find out because if there was any chance at all with Yuri—he was going to take it.

* * *


	9. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri’s eyes popped open, sparkling in the dim light of the fading afternoon.
> 
> “I would have you with me, beside me all of the time, and I’d never let you go.”
> 
> “Never?” Yuri whispered.
> 
> “Not ever,” Ryosuke confirmed, “I think you should just sleep in my room.”
> 
> “I...I should?”
> 
> “Yes,” Ryosuke nodded, nervous now that he’d said it out loud, “You obviously would sleep better there, wouldn’t you?”
> 
> “Yes,” Yuri replied without hesitation because he would, undoubtedly.
> 
> “Okay, then let’s try that?”
> 
> “Okay,” Yuri nodded, his eyes twinkling, “It doesn’t mean I won’t still...you know...take your clothes to...be a freak with.”
> 
> Ryosuke laughed, shrugging, “That’s fine, it just means it will be easier for me to find them this way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far: (refer to this section at the start of each chapter for recaps of the chapter before)
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Yuri:  
> -although he does not recognize it as such, moving the furniture is the start of his 'nesting'  
> -has resorted to taking small tokens of things that he has a strong tie with in memories and feelings of Ryosuke
> 
> ABO--  
> -AO are capable of cheating the bond system and 'lie' through it under some circumstances 
> 
> Omegas:  
> -need their Alpha's acceptance and support
> 
> Betas:
> 
> Super-Hybrids:  
> -Parent Alphas intimidate ALL Omegas (even those already marked by their own Alpha)

* * *

Please note: I subtitled the video, just turn them on =)

Chinen: Radio name, Ichigo san. The keyword is “fate”

Yamada: Fate?

Chinen: Yes

Yamada: So, it’s about fate now

Chinen: Says here to talk about Beethoven’s fate  
(Beethoven’s fifth is called 運命/fate in Japan)

Yamada: Ah, I see. Well, I have nothing to say

Chinen: Na na na naaa♪

Yamada: … fate? I don’t know what to say on fate

Chinen: Fate, I don’t have a clue

Yamada: What’s fate?

Chinen: While you’re still talking, the sound is breaking up

Yamada: Not that fate?

Chinen: Yes but your voice is breaking up while you keep saying fate, fate, fate

Yamada: Fine! You don’t have to say anything, I’ll talk about it!

Chinen: Here’s Yama chan’s opinion

Yamada: Fate is… well, a new encounter and what not. I’m going for just in general… I think fate is a chance to meet something/someone wonderful! In short, I think fate is what brought Chinen and I together

Chinen: Umm, I don’t have to talk right?

Yamada: No

Chinen: ‘Cause you sounded like you were hoping for an replay back

Yamada: No no, you keep quiet

Chinen: You’re talking with the people listening, right?

Yamada: Yup

Chinen: Right?

Yamada: Yes so, you just keep quiet… To those who are listening to this radio, to those who are listening to my voice, I think this is a form of fate too… I love you all! Yup, I don’t know what I’m saying. Okay, Chinen kun talk!

Chinen: Okay

Yamada: My face is red right now

Chinen: After all, I can only think of Beethoven’s fate when I hear “fate”

Yamada: I think Chinen’s idea a little out there

Chinen: Yes, a little out there. Sorry about that

Yamada: Yup

Chinen: We are still waiting for keywords you want us to talk about. This was HEY!SAY!Talking

Yamada: Please listen to a song for now. It’s HSJ’s

Yama-Chi: Too shy

Translation courtesy of: <https://jump-daisuki.livejournal.com/38164.html#cutid1>

* * *

Ryosuke stood looking in his closet completely confused, because there were no clothes there. In fact, when he checked his drawers and the bathroom hamper—there were none of his clothes to be found. He couldn’t understand it and wandered to the kitchen to get the number for the laundry service to find out what exactly was going on.  
  
He reached the cleaning service and they forwarded him to the laundry service, and once they answered he explained the situation to the lady on the phone, telling her that his laundry was clearly being picked up but no one was delivering it back to him.  
  
The lady asked him to hold while she investigated which he agreed to, spending the four minutes she was gone lamenting how hard it was going to be to replace all those clothes if they were actually lost. They might be rather monochrome, but the truth was, they were all a little different and carefully curated to stay in his collection as he never bought something new without getting rid of the old.  
  
When the lady returned to the line she spoke softly, “I’m sorry sir, but it appears that we were put on hold about three weeks ago.”  
  
“What does that mean? ‘Put on hold’?”  
  
“It is normally used when patrons go on vacation or something of that nature—a temporary disruption of service, but not a cancellation.”  
  
“So, you were not picking up my clothes at all during the last three weeks?”  
  
“No sir...”  
  
“Who could authorize that?”  
  
“Only someone who lives in your home.”  
  
“I see,” Ryosuke thanked her for her help and got off the phone, more puzzled now than before he called—because unless he was losing his mind—he did not put the laundry service on pause, which left Yuri as the only possible explanation but he was so obsessive about soft, clean clothes he couldn’t remotely fathom him canceling a service he considered positively essential.  
  
Still, he should ask, so he moved across the house, slowly stepping into the room since the door was open, “Yuri?”  
  
His eyes landed on the bed, where there was a round lump, and he whispered, “Sorry! I didn’t know you were sleeping.”  
  
He started to tiptoe out of the room, but then he couldn’t help the idea that flitted through his mind of how cute Yuri was when he slept, and how much he really wanted to see him since he hadn’t seen him all day long.  
  
He carefully approached the bed, grabbing the edge of the comforter to gingerly draw it down to reveal Yuri.  
  
 _Yuri._  
  
And Ryosuke’s clothes.  
  
Ryosuke tilted his head, trying to understand what he was seeing—because Yuri was just as cute as he had imagined, curled up into the tiniest little ball he’d ever seen, his arms tucked under his head, his expression soft and contented. Yet, around Yuri, in what he could only describe as a nest—were all of Ryosuke’s missing clothes.  
  
The arrangement was clearly not random—rather, they were placed very precisely—it was obvious by the way they were rolled and folded—the soft parts pointing inward toward where Yuri lay, with the snaps and edges which were hard along the outer edge of the ring. He looked at all of the clothes, then noticed that Yuri’s head was on a makeshift pillow—his Fullmetal Alchemist hoodie.  
  
If Hikaru hadn’t talked to him that day—if he didn’t know the truth, he would probably have been really angry and pitched a fit about this—but in light of what he now understood, what he knew about Yuri...this was absolutely the cutest and most precious thing he’d ever seen in his life.  
  
His heart melted, his hands itching to touch Yuri, so he took the chance, tracing the line of clothes that led to his curled form to graze across his shoulder, smoothing through his hair, causing him to stir, a soft sigh in the space between them.  
  
“Ryosuke?” Yuri whimpered, curling up tighter into the tiny ball, not opening his eyes.  
  
“I’m here,” Ryosuke whispered back.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Yuri stated, his eyes fluttering open to make contact with his for a moment and then he grabbed the hoodie and drug it over his face in embarrassment.  
  
Ryosuke’s mind raced, trying to think of the right way to handle this, to reassure him, and then he knew.  
  
He gingerly climbed up on the bed, much to Yuri’s protest as he messed up part of his nest, his complaints silenced when Ryosuke had positioned himself as a mirror to him, his nose touching his own where he peeked shyly out of his self-made hoodie cave.

Yuri blinked at him, confused, “I...”  
  
“Shh,” Ryosuke smiled, reaching beyond the edge of the hoodie to run his fingers through Yuri’s hair causing him to close his eyes and he could swear he heard him purr softly before he spoke, “If I could I would have your stuff all around me all the time. If your clothes fit me...I would wear them too.”  
  
Yuri’s eyes popped open, sparkling in the dim light of the fading afternoon.  
  
“I would have you with me, beside me all of the time, and I’d never let you go.”  
  
“Never?” Yuri whispered.  
  
“Not ever,” Ryosuke confirmed, “I think you should just sleep in my room.”  
  
“I...I should?”  
  
“Yes,” Ryosuke nodded, nervous now that he’d said it out loud, “You obviously would sleep better there, wouldn’t you?”  
  
“Yes,” Yuri replied without hesitation because he would, undoubtedly.  
  
“Okay, then let’s try that?”  
  
“Okay,” Yuri nodded, his eyes twinkling, “It doesn’t mean I won’t still...you know...take your clothes to...be a freak with.”  
  
Ryosuke laughed, shrugging, “That’s fine, it just means it will be easier for me to find them this way.”  
  
  


* * *

Ryosuke glanced around, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end when he pulled the letter out of his mailbox.

The handwriting was unmistakable.

It was most certainly a letter from his Granny Yamada.

Postdated...the day before.

His hands shook as he flipped the envelope over, the trembling causing it to take longer than it should as he attempted to open it.

Finally managing to get past the envelope he slid the paper contained within, opening it slowly.

There were only eight words.

**What are you waiting for?**

_**Trust your heart.** _

At the very bottom was a tiny ink heart with two initials GY.

He wondered absently if this was one of the JUMP members messing with him? 

_Who would do something like this?_

No one...none of them seemed like they'd devote themselves to this level of prepwork for a practical joke.

He had no idea how he got the letter, and even on the off chance his Granny was still alive--how would she know he was waiting or not rushing ahead or anything about his life at all really?

Even so, he couldn't shake the words haunting him the rest of the day...falling asleep with the words replaying over and over in his mind.

_**What am I waiting for?** _

____________________  
  
  
  
Ryosuke had been hyper fixated on Yuri—not the normal way either, having grown rather complacent over time to allow the link between them to help him better understand what he was thinking and such. No, after talking to Hikaru he’d made a concerted effort to not use their connection as the only way he gained insights—instead, he’d made a practice of studying Yuri, more often than not when Yuri sincerely had no idea at all.  
  
And today, Ryosuke decided he needed to figure this out, to discover the truth, once and for all.  
  
“I saw the magazine interview you did,” Ryosuke spoke the words softly, glancing over at Yuri who was stretched across the couch, arms folded under his head, looking ten seconds away from taking a nap.  
  
“Which one?” Yuri wondered, turning his head up to look at Ryosuke in the chair beside him.  
  
Ryosuke reached down into his backpack, somewhat embarrassed he had purchased a magazine that featured their group.  
  
If it mattered at all to Yuri he didn’t show it, blinking softly as he waited for Ryosuke to continue.  
  
Ryosuke opened the book to the page with the quote, reading it carefully, “ _It’s not entirely JUMP, but I have a soft spot for Yama-chan. When Yama-chan says, ‘Do it~’ I unconsciously end up wanting to do it, you know. When he sleeps on hard places, I fold a towel into a pillow and put it under his head. And when he falls asleep in the car, there are times when he leans on me. At those times, I move my body, and to me, Yama-chan ends up adjusting himself to the most comfortable position. Yama-chan is so sweet.”_  
  
By the time he reached the end, Ryosuke’s voice was a whisper, the weight of the words strong within him, and he wanted to make sense of it, “Is this how you feel?”  
  
Yuri was confused, rolling over onto his side so he could look at Ryosuke, “Yes?”  
  
“You said when...when I say ”Do it“ that you unconsciously end up wanting to do it...is that...is that the thing you’re scared of?”  
  
Yuri considered this for a moment, his mind flitting back to the interview and how naturally those words had come out of his mouth, not once thinking that he was a mindless robot made to do as he was told, that was the furthest thing from his mind actually, “No...it wasn’t like that...I meant...I want you to be proud of me. I want to make you happy, so if you want me to do it I will.”  
  
“But I don’t wan—“  
  
“Wait,” Yuri lifted his hand and Ryosuke bit his lip, “I trust you, that’s the difference. You’ve shown me that you have this power to force me to do things, but, it doesn’t matter anymore, because I know in my heart that you’d never use it to hurt me—you’d never abuse that power. I just...I trust you.”  
  
Ryosuke stared at him for a moment, his mind whirling with thoughts and things he wanted to say, but nothing seemed good enough, proper enough to express what he felt, “Thank you.”  
  
It was too small but he knew if he said more he was going to cry and that was not something he wanted to do.  
  
“For what?” Yuri couldn’t help it, he could tell Ryosuke was distressed and it wasn’t that he wanted to add to it, but in all reality—he absolutely did not understand what he was being thanked for.  
  
“For caring about me, trusting me, being here right now, I don't know, just being my friend, being with me,” the words were rushed, doing his best to keep his emotions out of it.  
  
“Is that unusual?”  
  
“You know it is,” the words were pain filled, and Yuri’s heart yearned to comfort him, to touch him, imbue him with the truth about who he really was, frowning when Ryosuke shook his head.  
  
“They are just jealous,” Yuri stated plainly, “They’re too jealous to care about knowing you, and then the other half are just too enamored by you that they see you as something set apart. I sort of feel sorry for them in reality.”  
  
Ryosuke was staring at him, never having really considered the words he was saying, “But you care about me...you take care of me.”  
  
“I do,” Yuri agreed, shifting so he could sit up, crossing his legs onto the couch.  
  
“Why?”  
  
Yuri wasn’t really expecting a question like that, but surely this is easy to describe, simple to explain, but suddenly his mouth was dry and his palms were sweating because honestly, he wasn’t really sure how to describe this.  
  
He closed his eyes for a moment, and the words flashed so clearly in his mind that he might as well have been reciting them directly from the radio program all of those years ago, his voice tender when he looked at Ryosuke, “I think fate is a chance to meet someone wonderful! I think fate is what brought Chinen and I together.”  
  
Ryosuke blinked at him, tilting his head, “I...I said that...wow, I mean it was a really long time ago.”  
  
“Uh-huh,” Yuri confirmed, “I memorized it.”  
  
“Why would you do that?”

"At the time, when you said it," Yuri struggled with how to explain something that was so complex inside himself, "Well, I mean I couldn't even respond, because I'd spent so much time trying to understand who I was and what I was here for—maybe even more so when it came to you, my connection to you and what it all meant. Who I was when it came to you felt like...like a separate question. Then you randomly said that on our radio show and I was blown away—cause you just said it so easily. It was obvious you didn't prepare for it, or think many long hours about it—you just said it because it was what you truly believed."

Ryosuke stared at him for a moment, shrugging, "I mean...I still believe it, even now...maybe even more now..."

"I don't like fate, the very idea of it, but...in that moment because I had spent so much time trying to understand how I fit into the world---it made sense somehow...it fit all of the various aspects of my life up until that moment," Yuri smiled, "You know, I wasn’t really one to get caught up in fairy tales and fantasies, but I know you were.”  
  
Ryosuke shrugged again, it was true.  
  
“Fate is another name for fairy tales and fantasies, isn’t it?”  
  
“I guess,” Ryosuke wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but he wanted him to really understand what he’d said, not decide on his own, leaning to his own understanding, “But...fate just takes us to the starting line. We decide if we’re going to step across it to start the race.”  
  
Yuri studied him, his eyes moving across his expression, considering his words, “I still don’t like the idea of fate.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“I want to be in charge of my own destiny, I don’t want some force out there making choices for me...but...”  
  
Ryosuke shifted forward, his elbows resting on his knees, “But?”  
  
“When you say it like that then I’m not so scared of it,” Yuri wrung his hands in his lap, “I have...I don’t remember a time...now...after all these years I don’t remember a time that you weren’t...like...there...in the back of my mind’s eye, even before I met you—you were there.”  
  
Ryosuke swallowed roughly, clarity rushing through his mind, “That’s me, I have that same thing.”  
  
“Really?” Yuri’s eyes were impossibly wide, “I felt...like...sometimes, it seemed like I could...that you...we...”  
  
“I talked to you,” Ryosuke blurted out, “I know it sounds insane okay, but I swear, it was like I talked to you. I used to pretend you were an angel, or like a spirit that visited me so I wouldn’t feel like I was crazy.”  
  
Yuri laughed softly, shaking his head, “Me too...I did the same thing, but Saya told me about what happened to her and I guess I didn’t feel so alone.”  
  
“I knew you, that day,” Ryosuke felt a thousand words vying to be set free, to be heard, “When you came into the practice room, I knew you. I didn’t know your name, I didn’t know the first thing about you but, I KNEW YOU.”  
  
“I knew you, too,” Yuri whispered, the air between them becoming charged with something new.  
  
A heaviness in the air around them, a static charge between them, and something sacred neither of them had a name for came to life, something bigger than them, something more powerful than fate or destiny within the walls where they sat. Ryosuke’s fingers dug into his palms, his legs trembling, screaming for him to move, to go.  
  
Yuri shifted to sit on his hands, his legs bouncing up and down as his mind played a scene over and over again— _GO TO HIM._  
  
There was a single beat in time, the world stood still, all of creation holding her breath in anticipation, a moment finally revealing itself that had been set in motion in a time before they could comprehend, and then, an ancient whisper brushed against them.

 _Go._  
  
The world was set in motion, new colors blossomed before their eyes that they had no name for, an emotion so strong neither of them had the will to fight it, letting go, bolting forward, crashing into chaos, desperately grabbing one another, their words messy and blurry as they boldly confessed their feelings, giving freedom to express themselves, to open the doors that had been so heavily locked.  
  
Their voices overlapped, their hands touching each other’s faces, arms, running through their hair, memorizing every aspect of them, trying to commit the way it felt to their senses, to never forget this moment, as every wall they’d built between them crumbled, inhibitions destroyed in a single breath as they showed themselves to one another, gave the other the freedom to discover who they really were.  
  
In the flurry of motion, Ryosuke had his hands on Yuri’s cheeks, holding him as he practically vibrated in place with the amount of energy coursing through him and all he could think was that they were standing there together, facing forward at the starting line.  
  
Yuri froze, his eyes widening, and then his heart responded, his hands raising up to press Ryosuke’s against his cheeks, his eyes so soft and tender as he lifted up on his toes, pressing his lips against Ryosuke’s in the softest whisper of kisses.  
  
A tiny taste, it might have been enough for lesser men, but for them, after these many years of dancing around their feelings, it was still like suffocating under water, and Ryosuke pulled him against his body, his mouth seeking his own, writing words of love, of passion and longing, of now and forever after, of the time he’d waited and now the time that stretched out before him in a delightful melody of what would undoubtedly be a chaotic, messy, sometimes feral future--but oh!

Oh, how they would love!  
  
Yuri felt the thoughts flowing through the bond, conflicted by the imagery that flooded his mind and the wicked things that Ryosuke’s mouth was doing to him—his mind whirling in a million different directions.  
  
 _For the love of God brain, shut the hell up already!_  
  
Ryosuke snorted, pulling back with a smile, his lips glittering with passion but his eyes were dancing, because it was seriously absurd, just utterly and completely ridiculous, and then...they laughed, a joy filled, genuine laugh that made them both breathless as Ryosuke grabbed Yuri up into his embrace to swing him around, his heart speaking straight into his own, “I love you.”  
  
“I love you, too.”  
  
The words echoed in the room, and neither of them were really sure if they’d said them out loud or not, but it hardly mattered, because they heard them. They heard them with their ears, with their minds, with their very souls.  
  
  
**  
“I want to sing this song.”

Ryosuke's finger was touching the page on the table titled "Stars In Heaven", his eyes focused on the manager, not the chaotic aura rolling off of Yuri next to him.  
  
“It’s a love song,” the manager shook his head, “You’re both too young to be singing a song like this.”  
  
Ryosuke frowned, “Love has nothing to do with age. I want to sing that song.”

"Me too," Yuri spoke up, his voice weak but clear with conviction, clearing his throat, "I want it too."

Their eyes connected and for a moment there was just white light and softness, and as quickly as it was there it was gone, both blinking and then jumping when the manager sighed.

He crossed his arms, eyes fixed on them, studying them, undoubtedly trying to figure out if he could regain the control in this conversation.

Yuri leaned onto the table with both hands, speaking in absolution, “We’re singing the song, you can either have a track prepared for us or we’ll sing it acapella—but we’re singing this song.”  
  
“Fine.”  
**  
  
They were breathless as they stared into the other’s eyes, Yuri’s fingertips tracing the sharpness of Ryosuke’s cheeks as he studied his eyes, looking past what was obvious to see what was really there.  
  
 _The sprouting green leaves_  
 _receive rain and changes color_  
 _Embrace the light of our_  
 _lives on the same earth_  
  
“How old is your soul?” Yuri murmured, his fingertips moving across Ryosuke’s cheek to cup his face.  
  
“I don’t know,” Ryosuke shrugged, “...but it took you long enough didn’t it?”  
  
Ryosuke swallowed, a shallow, distant part of himself knowing there was a time that he felt so lost, but unable to fully embrace that reality in light of the power of the bond before him, “...how many lives have I lived waiting for you to find me?”  
  
 _ALL MY LOVE_  
 _Everyone's love shines_  
 _on the earth's future_  
  
 _ALL YOUR LOVE_  
 _If you're overflowing with smiles_  
 _That's all that I adore (love)_  
  
“I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”  
  
Ryosuke smiled, twisting his head to press a tender kiss to Yuri’s palm, grasping his wrist to hold him close, “You were worth it.”  
  
 _Everyone has someone important to them_  
 _I wonder how long you can be together_  
 _It makes me worried_  
  
“You’ll never be alone again,” Yuri whispered, shuffling forward, closing the distance between them, his hand moving to brush against the hair at the base of Ryosuke’s neck.  
  
 _Our future depends on us_  
 _So let's start the love_  
 _Radiant, day by day it arrives_  
  
Ryosuke’s smile was gentle, his arms moving to pull Yuri impossibly closer, “As it should be.”  
  
 _Everyone's dream_  
 _Continues on in the earth's future_  
  
 _ALL MY LOVE_  
 _And if we miss each other_  
 _It's only a piece of the beginning_  
  
“I didn’t believe in fate,” Yuri tilted his head, “You know?”  
  
“Yeah,” Ryosuke laughed softly, “I know.”  
  
 _ALL YOUR LOVE_  
 _Because you're by my side_  
 _Everyone's FUTURE EARTH_  
  
And then, in that moment, Yuri realized, he could finally take a deep breath.

...and when he did, when he finally inhaled, and his lungs expanded after all of these many years of feeling like they had been compressed and held bound, he froze.  
  
His eyes dilated, and his head jerked up to stare at Ryosuke who could sense the change in Yuri.  
  
Ryosuke's hands tightened on Yuri's arms, leaning a bit back to get a better look at him, but it didn't reveal any more information than he had before that moment, rather, he was more confused because it felt to him as if there was an underlying current of electricity running beneath his fingertips, causing him to flex and release his grasp.  
  
A low, deep noise began in Yuri's throat, and then he'd pushed forward into Ryosuke's arms, his hands grabbing his head and pushing it to the side so he could bury his face against his chest, to push his nose against the juncture of his neck, inhaling deeply of the fragrance there--a warm, soft, yet slightly spicy scent, similar to what he smelled like before but...more, a deeper, more nuanced scent, layered with deeper undertones that called to Yuri in a way it had not before.

Ryosuke's hands jerked up to hold Yuri there against him, something dancing around the edge of his being, something toying with the fraying edges of his unwavering control--his eyes closing, trying to block out the myriad of inputs but that was a mistake--because the moment he shut off one sense, the other heightened.  
  
The power of the way Yuri had always smelled was strong, compelling, and never had Ryosuke tried to explain it to him, not really, but what was there before? It paled in comparison to what was there now.  
  
It felt to him as if the scent was not just something he could sense with his nose, but something he could perceive with his being, like it was imprinted upon him from ancient days of old when whatever powers that be would have made the map of time and space that would lead him to this very moment in history.  
  
It called to him, it spoke words of a lifetime directly into his soul and all Ryosuke could think was that he needed _more_.  
  
Yuri whimpered when Ryosuke's fingertips ran through his hair, tugging on the ends as he tried to process what was happening to him, to slow down his mind so that he could keep track of his own motions, but something in the noise, something in the sound combined with the way Yuri's scent seemed to be changing by the second made something snap--made one of the tethers that had held Ryosuke break instantly.  
  
Yuri squealed when the world was spinning, swept up into Ryosuke’s arms as he moved to the hallway, his foot slamming into the door to throw it open as he entered their room, the scenery a blur until he was there, somehow in the middle of the bed with Ryosuke looking down on him, his eyes bright and shining in the dim lights around him, and then Ryosuke’s lips twisted into a sly smile, his eyebrow raising slowly, his voice hoarse when he spoke, the tremor in his voice betraying his confidence, “Is—Is this okay?”  
  
Yuri wanted to say so many words, wanted to call him names and tell him what a dumb boy he was, but he was too distracted by how beautiful he was, by how good it felt to have finally his weight pressing down on him, and to have him enveloped in his arms, his fingers grasping the back of his neck, pressing down to pull him closer, eyes linked, feeling like they were connected to his very soul, nodding his head in response.  
  
Ryosuke leaned down, his breath warm on Yuri’s face, his voice soft on his skin, “I love you.”  
  
“I love you,” the words were spoken without hesitation, and before he could think further about anything that was happening, Ryosuke had closed the distance between them, his lips delicate and tender against Yuri’s.  
  
This kiss was different than their first, less chaotic, the undertones steeped in emotion, something that neither of them had expected, in truth, having thought they understood what all of this was, how it worked, as the reality was unfolding within each other’s arms, they were realizing they needed to let go of their expectations and just live in this moment.  
  
Let it happen.  
  
 _Trust your heart._  
  
When Yuri shifted, his arms wrapping around Ryosuke to draw him closer, Ryosuke gasped, his head dropping down against his shoulder, his eyes clenched shut and he reached up blindly, his hand grabbing at Yuri’s t-shirt, desperate as he tried to get closer to him.  
  
Yuri shoved against him, tried to push him back, a few attempts before Ryosuke finally realized what he was doing, giving him room to move, blinking slowly as he watched him jerk the t-shirt over his head, and before Yuri could release the soft material he was pressed down into the mattress, Ryosuke’s nose against his neck, his heart feeling like it was beating so fast it might explode.  
  
His hands grasped Ryosuke’s shoulders when he felt him press a soft kiss against his skin there, his head moving to offer him more freedom, something inside of him speaking words he didn’t understand but knew through the sheer power of them what they meant. Ryosuke groaned, his lips tender against his skin, and Yuri thought that he was going to crawl out of his own skin as a need so deep, so primal rose up inside of him, his hand moving to cup Ryosuke’s head, pulling him closer, lifting his shoulder up, consumed with the desire to have this need met, this empty spot filled, this place within him that had cried, had wept since as long as he could remember would finally feel at peace.

Would feel accepted, and necessary.

Would feel known and heard.

Would feel the truth and never, ever feel lost again.  
  
“Please,” he didn’t even recognize his own voice as the word slipped out between his lips, his hands frantic on Ryosuke’s skin, pulling at his shirt, pressing against his hair, begging him.  
  
Ryosuke felt like he was drowning, like he couldn’t think, couldn’t breath, couldn’t see beyond the hazy fog surrounding him of all things Yuri, his voice, his breath, his scent, his body, his heartbeat, his love, all surrounding him, wrapping him up into a warm embrace, a soft, tender place that he never knew could exist.  
  
That was what Yuri was to him, a fortress that stood against the world, that gave him a place where he could be himself and never worry that the world could touch him, could reach him, could hurt him, or harm him because Yuri would stand as a bastion between him and any force that might come against him. A place where he would always be accepted, where he would never need to worry about being rejected or not enough, where he would always have a home, where his heart was free to be raw and real and whole and true to who he was, inside and out, and he would be safe.  
  
“Always.”  
  
He didn’t know if the word was spoken out loud or inside his head or if he’d made it up, but he didn’t care, it didn’t matter because he could feel it, he knew the truth of it, he could sense the purest form of that thought pushing through the tiniest shred of distance between their bodies, and he knew...he felt so sure...so positive, but he couldn’t...he couldn’t...  
  
He jerked back, the most painful thing he had ever done, paling in comparison even to his transition, his eyes shining with the struggle as he stared down at Yuri, who looked up at him with such affection, with such assurance, such security.  
  
“I—Yuri—" Ryosuke swallowed hard, trying to force his mind, his brain to work, to make the words form out of the jumbled mess that was his brain, to speak light into this moment, to make Yuri see— _this is me—I am here!_  
  
 _THIS IS ME._  
  
“I want you to be with me forever,” the words clawed out of his throat, “Need you with me.”  
  
A soft bubble of delighted laughter shook Yuri’s form, his eyes twinkling as he smiled, knowing on every single level the control that Ryosuke was using to ensure that he knew, that he understood— _this wasn’t the bond._  
  
This wasn’t the trait.  
  
This wasn’t destiny.  
  
It wasn’t fate.  
  
It wasn’t some supernatural force that conspired through the ages to bring them together.  
  
In this moment, it was none of those things, it was _Ryosuke_.  
  
It was him.  
  
It was _always_ him.  
  
All of the worries and concerns, the fears and the trepidation, the unknown and the implications of whatever role destiny and fate might play in their relationship—all of them faded into nothingness in that moment—because all that mattered, all that had ever mattered was Ryosuke.  
  
“Be mine?” Yuri whispered the words, his fingers delicate on the edge of Ryosuke’s hair, reveling in the way his body trembled under his touch, his entire form radiating with the control he was using, and when Ryosuke just blinked, Yuri tugged on his hair, “Ryosuke, be mine...always.”  
  
The words echoed in Ryosuke’s mind, reverberating into his very soul.  
  
 _Be mine._  
  
 _Always._  
  
It is all he could ever want, nothing mattered more than that, it was all he wanted, all he could ever want, and while he was trying to somehow work through the complexities of his emotions he heard the noise, his thoughts rushing back into the moment where Yuri had forcibly ripped the collar of his shirt open, and without another second passing, he lifted up off the mattress, his mouth connecting to the spot on Ryosuke’s neck that called to him in every language of the universe, his teeth grazing the skin softly before he bit tenderly into it, the tiny tangy taste touching his tongue making him moan in satisfaction.  
  
The world was in motion, Yuri’s mouth still touching his neck, lightly sucking on the skin there, Ryosuke’s entire form pressed into him, and it felt like there was no gravity anymore, the connection between them seeming to come alive with static, with some energy as of yet having been unknown to them, yet held every answer to any question there was in all of time and space, as Ryosuke felt a deep seated need wash across every single fiber of his being swirling with the delight, the pleasure from this sacred, intimate connection to Yuri.

 _I need._  
  
When he felt Yuri’s fingers thread through his hair, pulling against him to draw him down, every resistance he had fell away. Every wall he’d put in place over the years, all of the lies he’d told, to himself, to others, to keep Yuri away, all of the distances and the reasons and the suppositions meaningless as they were stripped away one by one, and when his lips grazed Yuri’s neck, when he felt Yuri’s form lifting up to meet him, he knew...this was what he’d been looking for all his life.  
  
This was why nothing was ever enough, and this was why he never was satisfied with himself.  
  
He was never going to be enough.  
  
He wasn’t who he was meant to be without Yuri.  
  
He never would be.  
  
Yuri was a part of him—whether it made sense to either of them, whatever the implications of that—neither of them could possibly deny this fact.  
  
The same as Ryosuke was a part of Yuri—because they were clearly designed for one another on a plane of existence neither could understand.  
  
But maybe that was the whole point—maybe they didn’t need to—maybe they just...  
  
 _Trust your heart._  
  
“I love you,” he whispered, the response from Yuri immediate as he grabbed him tightly against his body, his head lifting as he gasped for air, hands frantic on his skin until he was pushing down on Ryosuke’s head, answering him since he could not form the proper words, his sigh a whisper of love in the air around them when Ryosuke’s teeth broke the skin, the sweet taste causing his eyes to clench shut in pleasure.  
  
Feeling pure contentment for the first time in his life.  
  
Sensing a level of fulfillment he could have never imagined.  
  
Knowing that finally, after the years of uncertainty—he would never wonder again, he would always know...he would always be sure of one absolute truth, one fact that was never going to change.  
  
Whatever might rise up against him, whatever might stand in his way, anything that could attempt to make him stumble, or fail—he would never be alone again.  
  
He would never be alone because Yuri was there, and he would always be—his heart living outside of himself.  
  
His partner, his husband, his lover, his friend, his help-meet, his confidant, his shelter, his comfort, his heart and soul.  
  
 _My everything._  
  
 _My Omega._

* * *

Lyric Translation Courtesy of:

The sprouting green leaves receive rain and changes color  
Embrace the light of our lives on the same earth

ALL MY LOVE  
Everyone's love shines on the earth's future

ALL YOUR LOVE  
If you're overflowing with smiles  
That's all that I adore (love)

Everyone has someone important to them  
I wonder how long you can be together  
It makes me worried

ALL MY LOVE  
Everyone's love shine on the earth's future

ALL YOUR LOVE  
I'f you're overflowing with smiled  
That's all that I adore (love)

Our future depends on us  
So let's start the love  
Radiant, day by day it arrives

Everyone's dream  
Continues on in the earth's future

ALL MY LOVE  
And if we miss each other  
It's only a piece of the beginning

ALL YOUR LOVE  
Because you're by my side  
Everyone's FUTURE EARTH

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What we know so far: (refer to this section at the start of each chapter for recaps of the chapter before)
> 
> Our Members--
> 
> Ryosuke:  
> -received a mysterious letter from his Granny Yamada  
> -became soul-bound to Yuri
> 
> Yuri:  
> -has managed to squirrel away nearly every single shred of Ryosuke's clothing to make his nest  
> -became soul-bound to Ryosuke
> 
> __________________________________
> 
> AHHHHH!! If you read this far, oh my goodness, THANK YOU THANK YOU! I started writing this because my recipient had these letters on her request I did not know. ABO...lol well, I had no idea what Alpha, Beta, and Omega was lol Not even kidding--so off I go, and MAN was it an eye opening experience ha I had to spend some time to figure out how I could work this mythos into my own comfort zone, how to carefully bridge the parts I found endearing and precious about the ABO genre and the ones I was uncomfortable with. More than anything I wanted to share the bond between the two of them, and how it would grow and change over time. So, I mixed it up with the soul-mate concept, creating my own version of all of it together. 
> 
> I hope it comes close to something my my recipient can love too! And all of you who also read it! 
> 
> I have an epilogue I want to write for this, but wanted to talk to my recipient before I do so as there are afew questions I need answered before I write it so it will be what she wants--sooooo it will have to wait until after the exchange reveals to be done...until then, just THANK YOU all for reading what I have written here. This truly was a work of PURE LOVE for me, of Yamachii, of wanting to do something very unique and special for my recipient and in a broader way, for all of you!
> 
> I've missed writing so much and this was such a wonderful way to push myself to try harder! Thank you so kindly!


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